The Real World
by WorldNerd12
Summary: Adrianna never was one to throw punches or get into brawls, but when an accident quite literally knocks her into Middle-Earth, she's trapped in a struggle that she once thought was only for entertainment. Now it's kill or be killed for Adrianna while she's forced to accept the reality of wars and death and ... love? Kíli/OC. Slight AU.
1. Dream or Reality?

**Chapter 1: Dream or Reality?**

Adrianna Miriam Roscioli was somebody who blended well into the crowd, never one to draw attention to her or do anything outrageous. She loved it; it was if she was a ghost half the time, despite her dark auburn hair and pale skin. People would gaze over her head at something more interesting, and Adriana didn't mind the slightest. She was simply part of the wall.

You see, Adrianna liked passing by unnoticed ever since that fateful incident at her old school had left her embarrassed beyond imagining and desperate to attend the University. She would always prefer the quiet, uneventful life when the only other option was the harassment from the "cool" people, and that habit had not stopped once she started attending college.

Unfortunately the fates would refuse her one wish for eternal anonymity…

* * *

It was cold and drizzly day not unlike any other day in England. Adrianna wrapped her coat tightly around her as she hurried into the local diner to meet up with Greta. Why her friend had decided that a night out during finals week was a good idea was beyond Adrianna. Her baby sister Quinn was already waiting for her to read her a bedtime story, and girl would stay awake all night if necessary. Nonetheless, like any loyal friend, she stood outside the diner, soaked to the bone.

The downpour stopped abruptly as Adrianna crossed the threshold and swept her hood back, shaking her hair that looked almost black from the rain. Adrianna surveyed the place she had memorized long ago. She spotted the honey blond head and deeply tanned skin of Greta, who was sitting with her back to the door.

Suppressing a smile, Adrianna clambered into the seat across from the woman. Ignoring the dirty look from a waiter for tracking in more mud, she said, "Alright. You got me out here. Now please tell me why you thought it would be a good idea to interrupt Quinn's story time."

Greta only jumped once, slightly startled, before she launched into a speech she had no doubt been rehearsing. "I thought she would be asleep by now. Doesn't she go to bed at six?"

"She keeps saying how she can stay up later since she just started school. Remember when you called me, and you heard Quinn in the background? That's because I was going to read her _Snow White and the Seven Dwarves._ She won't stop going on about how that's her new favorite story."

"Really? I thought she was still convinced she was Sleeping Beauty? Anyways, sorry about that, but I have the perfect plan for you to get yourself out there, Addie. You know, live a little and realize there's more to life than to completing a major in Interpersonal Speech-"

"International Studies," Adrianna interrupted.

Greta waved her hand dismissively. "Whatever. You get my point."

Adrianna sighed. Greta, ever the wild child, didn't the importance of earning the best grade out of the class. "Exams are coming up, and you know I need to study hard if I'm going to get that internship. My only spare time is for tucking Quinn into bed; Greta, it would be much better if you decide to plan a girl's night out afterwards."

Greta snorted. "Oh, please. You've been studying every waking hour, and I've decided to have an intervention on your behalf – don't roll your eyes at me. You deserve it," she said just as Adrianna started to get up. "Now sit your ass down and listen to me. Look, those boys embarrassed me too, and I understand why you want to live a solitary life, but are you really going to let a stupid prank rule the rest of your life? You need to get out there more. I was thinking watching _The Hobbit_…" she mused.

"Again?"

"Addie, do not tell me you have an idea that doesn't involve getting you so hammered you-" Adrianna leaped forward and covered Greta's mouth before she could tell the entire diner about Adrianna's stripping off her clothes and singing 'The Hoedown Throwdown' at the top of her voice. Adrianna had learned her lesson to never drink that much again, and she didn't need Greta to announce her little escapade to the world.

"That's unnecessary, Greta. I've been out enough." Adrianna fearfully glanced around to see if anybody was listening to Greta.

"Really? Where?"

"Well…there was Wednesday, you know, when…um… I went to breakfast-" Adrianna suddenly snapped her mouth shut, having just seen a tall man enter the diner. She instantly recognized him as Simon, one of the boys responsible for her very public embarrassment in secondary school. "Speak of the devil…"

Curious, Greta glanced over her shoulder. Her sweet face instantly transformed from one of excitement to one of anger and resentment. Simon spotted the pair and strutted towards the booth with every ounce of arrogance Adrianna remembered him having. She had hoped that growing up might tone his attitude down a little, but luck wasn't on her side.

"What do you want?" Greta demanded, glaring at Simon.

"I didn't expect to find Casper and Buzzer here," Simon said. "It's been, what, two years since graduation? I'm curious as to what my little pals are up to these days."

"We're hardly pals, Simon," Adrianna growled, grinding her teeth. "And as always, you can't seem to remember any names."

"Sorry, Casper," he responded, grinning as Adrianna grimaced at his old nickname for her. During school, Simon had given her that name since her pale skin was almost translucent, and Greta had been bequeathed with Buzzer since one day she had worn only yellow and black. "I know how much you love that nickname."

Greta rolled her eyes. "Look, Simon. Although it seems like you're still stuck as a spoiled little brat, Casper and Buzzer here are not. We do not need to listen to you reminisce about the old days. C'mon," she said, grabbing her purse and Adrianna's arm, leading her from the diner swiftly.

Simon stood up and followed them. "Alright, alright! Stop!" he yelled as Adrianna stepped out into the pouring rain. The two stopped right in front of the crosswalk, and Simon took that as a sign to continue. "I admit it, I was a bit of a git back then, but let me make it up to you girls. After the hell you two were put through, it's the least I can do."

Greta angrily marched back to Simon, determined to get into his face. "You mean after the hell _you and your buddies _put us through? Well, thanks but no thanks. Addie and I are perfectly fine as you can see. Aren't we?" Greta turned back to Adrianna for confirmation.

Adrianna opened her mouth to respond, but suddenly-

_SCREECH!_

Horrified, Adrianna whipped around, watching as a small car started careening over the surface of the drenched street, hydroplaning. Its headlights spun around wildly; Greta screamed while Simon yelled something at her, but Adrianna couldn't do anything. She was paralyzed, frozen with fear as the whirling vehicle headed straight for her. Time slowed down as Adrianna turned her head to see Greta trying run to her while Simon held her back. Greta's terror masked her own, and Adrianna squeezed her eyes shut.

It happened too quickly for Adrianna to process. One moment there was nothing but the missile shooting straight for her, but then there was flash of pain and a brief crushing sensation, and Adrianna was flying through the air…

* * *

_Thud!_

Adrianna had expected to smack her head against the sidewalk, but instead of hard concrete, she felt grass and soft, freshly tilled soil. Strange. A bird chirped, and Adrianna bolted up, staring at herself. Surprisingly, she was in one piece. Adrianna partially lifted her shirt, remembering the pain and expecting to at least find an ugly bruise, but her skin flawless and as pale as ever.

Adrianna paused. Her shirt was perfectly dry, not one drop of water. She slowly looked around, stunned. Wherever she was, it certainly wasn't London. Rolling hills surrounded her, stretching as far as the eye could see. The grass was greener than any she had ever seen, and the sky bluer. In the distance, several people were tending to something in the fields.

Adrianna shakily stood up and rubbed her eyes. She had been so sure that she was in the city, surrounded by towering skyscrapers and the hustle and bustle of London and … the car.

"Oh," Adrianna whispered to herself. "Am I dead?"

"No more than I am, my dear Hobbit," said a vaguely familiar-sounding voice from behind her. Adrianna turned to see a tall man leaning on his staff, his gray robes fluttering and his pointed hat protected his face from the bright sunlight shining down on them. When Adrianna had stopped gaping and realized where she had seen him from, she nearly fainted.

"No, that's not possible. You're not real," she muttered. "Oh, my god! I really am dead, and instead of heaven, they decided to send to Middle-Earth. No, no, no, this is not happening…" She ran her hands through her hair, muttering to herself. If the Valor really did exist, then they had a sick sense of humor, sending her to a supposedly make-believe world. If she ever met Manwë, she was going to have a word with him. Killing her in real life and then sending her to Middle-Earth was _not _acceptable in her book.

Gandalf the Grey stared at her with renewed interest. "I assure you, my dear, that this _is _happening, but I must say. You wear the most peculiar clothing I have ever seen on a Hobbit. And why would you think you are dead, my dear?"

Addie was affronted. There was nothing wrong wearing with her clothes! It was perfectly normal to wear jeans and a hoodie. And did Gandalf just call her what she thought he did? "I am _not _a Hobbit! Five-and-half-feet is perfectly normal for a woman of my age."

Gandalf chuckled. "Then I daresay you've recently woken from a dream. At your height, you could only be a Hobbit. Or perhaps a very tiny Dwarf," he mused.

"A tiny-" Adrianna stopped abruptly, realizing that Gandalf was much taller than he should have been. She spotted the door of a Hobbit-hole, but it wasn't tiny; it was perfectly sized, but that couldn't be possible. The tallest Hobbit stood at four feet tall, so that must mean…

"Oh no," Adrianna moaned as the realization struck her. "I'm _short_."

"No, you are merely the size of an average Hobbit. I can say that I've met much shorter Hobbits. Next are you going to say you don't have pointed ears?"

Adrianna's hands flew up to her ears. She gingerly felt them, and sure enough, they were tapered to points, not quite like an Elf's, but definitely not normal. She ran her fingers over the unfamiliar shape. Another realization struck her. If she had the ears and height of a Hobbit, then what on earth had happened to her feet? Adrianna ripped off her boots and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw they had remained the same. The ears she could live with, but she would not stand for over-sized hairy feet.

"If you don't mind my asking, my dear, what are you called?"

"Adrianna Roscioli?" She said it like a question. "But my friends call me Addie, and my sister – Quinn! Where is she?" Adrianna spun around, hoping against hope that her baby sister would suddenly appear, her soft brown eyes sparkling with excitement, but Adrianna was all alone. She could only wish that Greta was with Quinn, reading _Snow White and the Seven Dwarves_ to her. Was Quinn already sleeping? Was she wondering where her big sister was? Did she know that Adrianna was already missing her so much it hurt?

"Probably where you left her," Gandalf said, amused.

"You are _not _helping here, old man! I'm supposed to graduate later this month, and my parents and my friends are probably wondering where I am." Adrianna was close to hyperventilating at the moment.

"You're right, so why don't you start at the beginning? I could do with the company while I walk, and you best get all your emotions out before you meet my friend."

Adrianna critically stared at Gandalf. If he had been a stranger, Adrianna would have run away, screaming at the top of her voice, but this was Gandalf the Grey, and he had helped defeat the Dark Lord Sauron. She inhaled deeply before saying, "Fine, but you have to tell me any of your suspicions as to why I'm here."

"That sounds fair enough, my friend."

And so Adrianna told him.

**Hello! Thank you all for clicking on my story, and I really hope you'll review. Pretty please with a cherry on top? Any questions, just shoot me a review. Thanks!**

**(If any of you are wondering, this will be a Kíli/OC story because I am quite honestly in love with the super hot dwarf. How can I not be?)**


	2. A Very Dwarfish Problem

_Previously on _The Real World_:_

_"You're right, so why don't you start at the beginning? I could do with the company while I walk, and you best get all your emotions out before you meet my friend."_

_Adrianna critically stared at Gandalf. If he had been a stranger, Adrianna would have run away, screaming at the top of her voice, but this was Gandalf the Grey, and he had helped defeat the Dark Lord Sauron. "Fine, but you have to tell me any of your suspicions as to why I'm here."_

_"That sounds fair enough, my friend."_

_And so Adrianna told him._

**Chapter 2: A Very Dwarfish Problem**

Gandalf walked in silence for a while after Adrianna had concluded her story with the car accident. She desperately wanted to ask the wizard what he was thinking, but she was sure he would only respond when he wanted to. As Bofur had said, Gandalf was indeed a wizard and would do whatever he pleased. So Adrianna distracted herself for awhile by enjoying the sight of the Shire, for that was the only place in Middle-Earth she could be. At least she hadn't been plopped down in the middle of Mordor, and that was something.

It was much prettier in person, if that was possible. The sunlight was not harsh, but just perfect. As for the little Hobbit-holes they passed on the way to wherever they were going, Adrianna could see through the little windows, and every hole looked just as inviting as the next. Was one where Samwise Gamgee lived? Was one of them Bag End?

"Where are we going, Gandalf?" Adrianna asked, wondering which time she had been dropped in. The wizard wasn't yet Gandalf the White, but then again, Greta was the Middle-Earth whiz, not her. Adrianna was just the one whom Greta had decided to drag to the movies.

"To visit one Bilbo Baggins, an old friend of mine."

"But he doesn't remember you. Only your name," Adrianna pointed out before slapping her hand over her mouth. She had promised herself to act completely oblivious before she figured out when exactly she had landed, but it had only been ten minutes and already she was blabbering almost as much as when she had sang 'The Hoedown Throwdown.'

Gandalf didn't miss her brief slip, and studied her with a frown. "Just how do you know that, Ms. Roscioli?"

Adrianna opened and closed her mouth like a fish, no sound escaping. "Um…" She scratched behind her ear nervously and went pink. "It was nothing. Just a guess, you know, since Bilbo hasn't seen you in a while."

Damn! Why couldn't she keep her mouth shut? Another word, and Adrianna would slap duct tape over her mouth.

"Adrianna Roscioli, do not make me out for a fool. You are talking about something that hasn't even happened yet. Now tell me how you know that."

"I don't think you'll believe me, Gandalf."

"Try me, Ms. Roscioli. I have seen many things in the years I've been alive."

"Oh, I know. Trust me," Adrianna whispered under her breath. Clearing her throat and speaking more audibly, "Just don't freak out, okay? I'm – how do I explain this – I'm kind of from a completely different land, and there I was not this short; I was human. But like most cultures, we have stories just like Middle-Earth." Here, Adrianna took a deep breath. "And you see … God, this is going to sound so weird, but one of those stories is called _The Hobbit_, the prequel to _Lord of the Rings_."

Adrianna stopped, assessing Gandalf's expression, but he was better at his poker face than her Uncle Frederick. After several seconds, Gandalf merely said, "Hmm," and she waited for something much wordier.

Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.

Finally, "Let me clarify: Middle-Earth has been written down in your world, and this entire journey is already chronicled with set outcomes?"

Adrianna nodded.

"Well, that settles it. Adrianna Roscioli, I will need you to come with me to visit Bilbo Baggins, but heed my words. _You. Must. Not. Tell. Anybody_. If you do, the entire future could be erased, and I for one am not willing to risk that. I know the future is not set in stone, but don't risk it." She had not expected Gandalf to be so stern; Greta had told her the Gandalf the Grey was more fun than Gandalf the White; she didn't ever want to meet Gandalf the White then.

"But what if I can save lives-" Adrianna started, but Gandalf interrupted her.

"No." The word carried an enormous power, and Adrianna couldn't bring herself to argue with the wizard, though she dreadfully wanted to. Already she was retreating back to her former, shyer self. Although she had been more vocal in her anxiety and shock, that was quickly disappearing, and by the time they had reached Bag End, Adrianna was barely saying a word.

Bilbo Baggins was sitting outside his little Hobbit-hole, smoking his pipe just like Adrianna remembered from the movie. He was still dressed with a bright yellow shirt with curly hair atop his head and over-sized feet. Adrianna could tell that she was shorter than him, and that did nothing to calm her nerves. When the Dwarves came, they would practically be walking over her.

"Good morning," Bilbo said to the both of them, and Adrianna bit her lip to keep from smiling at what she knew was coming.

"What do you mean 'good morning'? Do you mean to wish me a good morning, or do you mean to say that this is a good morning whether I want it or not? Or maybe you mean that you feel good on this particular morning? Or perhaps you are simply stating that this is a morning to be good on."

Poor Bilbo was too confused to make sense of what the wizard had just said, so he opted for the simplest response: "All of them at once, I suppose..."

Adrianna tuned their conversation out; she already knew what was going to be said, so instead she let her attention drift to Bag End, which was exactly like she remembered, with the round, little green door and plants surrounding the place. Being here in person, she could understand why the Hobbit had been so reluctant to leave his home. She would be too.

She couldn't help but think about how Quinn would have loved the Shire in all of its glory and splendor; she would have already rolled down half the hills within a mile's radius, and right now Adrianna should have been reprimanding her for getting dirt all over her brand new clothes. Quinn would have then given Adrianna her best puppy dog eyes while asking where the nearest ice cream shop was.

But Quinn wasn't here, Greta wasn't here, and her uncle wasn't here. She was all alone in this strange world. Adrianna fingered the picture in her pocket, the one she kept on her at all times, and tears threatened to fall. Oh, how she hoped her family was safe and sound in their cozy little home.

"…I shall inform the others," Gandalf said, jerking Adrianna from her thoughts. Did she seriously just miss the _entire _conversation? Was she supposed to say something?

Bilbo, now very flustered, said, "Inform the who – no! We do not want any adventures _here_. No, thank you! Not today, not … I suggest you try over the hill, across the river. Th - Good Morning!"

"Master Baggins! Won't you at least let Ms. Roscioli rest in your smial? She's traveled very far, and daresay she's in need of some new clothes if she's to stop receiving some very odd looks we received on our way here. At least don't be so discourteous as to refuse her lodgings."

Bilbo glared at Gandalf, and Adrianna shivered. She had never thought of Bilbo Baggins as intimidating, but then again, she had never thought she would be three feet tall. "Fine. Come in, Roscioli.."

Adrianna scampered up the steps and into the smial while avoiding making eye contact with Bilbo. "Should I take off my shoes?" she asked tentatively.

Bilbo stared at her feet. "What kind of Hobbit wears shoes on this kind of day, Roscioli?"

Adrianna blushed. "I'm not actually a Hobbit, Mr. Baggins, and Roscioli is my last name. It's Adrianna."

Bilbo surveyed her carefully. "Sorry, Adrianna-"

"Don't be. Everybody calls me Addie," she blurted, mentally punching herself. She had spoken before thinking about how that would sound to Bilbo. She was getting worse by the minute. Next thing she knew, she'd probably end up revealing the ending for everybody in Hobbiton to hear, Gandalf would most definitely _not _be happy with her.

"Umm, okay? I have some old things of my father that should be in the nearest guestroom. You're welcome to them, but I'm sorry that all of my mother's clothes were given away to friends, though there might be one or two dresses left. Well, I'll leave you to it," Bilbo said before disappearing into the kitchen, no doubt to start one of his many meals.

Adrianna waited for Bilbo to leave before she practically ran into the room, desperate for a moment away from any prying eyes. She slammed the door shut and sank to the floor, silent tears streaming down her cheeks. Was she really dead back home, or was this just some twisted version of a coma? Adrianna dug into her pocket, withdrawing a crumpled photograph of Quinn and her on Quinn's third birthday, taken just before her uncle had taken them in. She gazed at the photo; Quinn was smiling her adorable smile, sticking her chin up while Adrianna hugged her close. In the background she could the dozens of little children running around.

She traced her finger over her baby sister wearing a plastic crown with pink rhinestones, unable to tear her eyes away. _I miss you, Little Princess. More than you know_, Adrianna thought. She could only hope Greta was taking good care of Quinn until their uncle returned from his business trip – did he already know about his oldest niece?

A loud bang and a swearword echoed through the hallway. Adrianna glanced out the round window, wondering if the Dwarves had already come. She relaxed when she saw that the sun was still low over the horizon. She didn't fancy Dwalin with his various arrays of weapons, towering over her. Hell, they would all be towering over her when they arrived.

Adrianna ran her hand over her ears, wondering at the new shape. Standing up, she drifted over to where a mirror stood above an ornate mantelpiece. They were much pointer than she had originally thought. Though she had always been skinny, with her new height, she looked almost fragile. Her skin was, if possible, paler, and her dark auburn hair curlier, hanging to the middle of her back. The only thing that had remained completely unchanged was her dark brown eyes, the precise shade of Quinn's beautiful, chocolate orbs.

Oh, how she missed her sister.

She opened the drawers, going through the numerous breeches and shirts and coats. Adrianna had already made the decision to keep her boots; they were simple and sturdy enough for right now. Looking at the clothes of Baggins Sr., she could tell that she would need a belt to hold up the trousers, and the shirts would continually slip. Thankfully, there was an old dress squashed into the corner, a pretty green thing. She slipped it on quickly, but it was slightly too big. She grabbed a thin belt, refusing to look like she had stuffed herself into a giant potato sack covered in moss.

Adrianna peered at herself in the mirror, subconsciously smoothing her frazzled hair. The outfit was simple enough. Without the boots, she could almost pass for a Hobbit. Well, if she was going to be stuck in this world for a while, she might as well get used to it.

"Addie! Are you done yet?" Bilbo yelled, and Adrianna quickly stepped out of the room, feeling awkward wearing Mrs. Baggins's clothes. "There you are! I was just about to begin supper. You can help yourself to the food in the pantry."

She nodded her head meekly. "Best I get it now before the others come," Adrianna murmured to herself, but Bilbo had heard.

Bilbo gave her a suspicious look. "Nobody else is coming," he said stubbornly.

"But Gandalf has already told the thirteen Dwarves to come to Bag End," Adrianna let slip before realizing what she had just done.

_You idiot! _Adrianna told herself. She was supposed to keep quiet about the whole thing, not give Bilbo a good reason to ignore the door the entire night. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! _She was going to mess the entire thing up, the one thing Gandalf had told her not to do.

"What? No! There will be _no_ Dwarves while I am here!" Bilbo said. "Ha! They will just have to spend the night outside the doorstep because I will not stand for it." He stomped to the door, grabbed his coat, and disappeared. "I will be back around midday tomorrow! Help yourself to whatever you need, but do not disturb my peace!"

"Wait! Mr. Bilbo!" Adrianna yelled, but he was already gone. Fuming, she aimed a kick at the table. "Perfect, Adrianna! Not only have you managed to get yourself stuck in a world that isn't supposed to be real, but you've already failed the one request you were given! Can you screw up anymore?" she yelled angrily.

_Ring!_

Adrianna froze, realizing she would be the one Bilbo would blame for the empty pantry. Should she let Dwalin in? It would be cruel to let the Dwarves spend the night outside right before their journey, but then again, Bilbo would be furious if the movie was any indication. Shrugging, Adrianna wouldn't see the harm if she was hopefully going back to her own world soon enough. And besides, Bilbo had to get his food from somewhere. With the number of smials Adrianna had passed on her way here, there was enough food to last a month for ten people, or Hobbits.

Opening the door, Adrianna braced herself. Like she had expected, Dwalin was much taller than he should have been, and bigger too. Nonetheless, he bowed low and said, "Dwalin, at you service."

Adrianna only paused for a second before doing a little curtsy and stammered, "Adrianna Roscioli, at yours."

Dwalin stepped through the door, and Adrianna staggered under the weight of Dwalin's cloak when he to her. "Is it this way, lassie? He said there'd be food and lots of it."

"What? Oh, yes," Adrianna responded, unable to see over the top of her bundle. She settled for plopping it on the floor near pegs for Bilbo's various cloaks and coats. If Dwalin ever asked, she could just say it fell without her knowledge. "Down the hall."

Dwalin grunted and, spotting Bilbo's plate full of fish and other yummies, began wolfing down the food. Adrianna stood a little ways back, resisting the urge to cover her ears each time Dwalin made a particularly loud noise; one of her pet peeves was loud eaters. _Just last until morning. That's all you have to do. Just last until morning._

_Ring!_

Adrianna sighed while Dwalin said with his mouth full, "That'll be the door."

"Yes, yes, I know." At least this time it would be Balin, and Adrianna had always thought that he would be one of the kindest, besides Ori.

She opened the door, and sure enough, the old dwarf stood outside with a gentle smile on his face.

"Balin, at your service," he said.

"Good evening," Adrianna responded, much nicer than Bilbo would have done.

"Yes. Yes, it is. Has it started then, lassie? Am I late?"

Adrianna was spared an answer when Balin spotted Dwalin with his hand in the cookie jar. Adrianna watched as the scene played out just as she had remembered, but that didn't stop her from wincing when the two head butted. It looked painful and, human or not, she didn't want of the Dwarves head butting her as a greeting; she would probably just get knocked out.

Adrianna quietly followed them to the pantry, thinking. If the next two to show up would be Kíli and Greta's soul mate, Fíli, it wouldn't do any harm in playing along. If she needed to practice keeping her traitorous mouth zipped, which she obviously did, Adrianna might as well get some practice in acting since Gandalf would no doubt want her to come up with a story and stick with it.

Sure enough, within a minute, there came a _ring!_

Adrianna pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. This had always been one of her favorite parts of the movie, and she opened the door. Just as she had expected, the two brothers stood there, but Adrianna had not done them justice in her memories. She was not sure it was possible that they were hotter in real life than in the movie, but she had apparently been mistaken.

"Fíli."

Greta would be so jealous of her right now.

"And Kíli."

Greta would be doubly jealous.

"At your service," they said together, bowing low.

_Time to have some fun, _Adrianna told herself. In her best Bilbo impersonation she said, "Nope! Wrong house. You can't come in, sorry."

She tried to close the door, but Kíli stuck his hand out, effectively blocking it. "What? Has it been cancelled?"

"Nobody told us," Fíli said.

This time Adrianna didn't even have to pretend. "No, nothing's been cancelled-"

"That's a relief," Kíli said, pushing the door open, causing Adrianna to stumble a little bit. She had never appreciated a Dwarf's strength; she didn't need to. Kíli had only been a fictional character before, but now he was very real and, Adrianna couldn't help but noticing, very, _very_ attractive.

Adrianna expected Fíli to give her all of the brothers' weapons, but instead he set them down himself, for which Adrianna was thankful. Maybe it was the fact that she only came up to Kíli's chest, but they looked really heavy up close, and she didn't need to embarrass herself further by collapsing under the weight.

"Don't mess with those. I just had them sharpened," Fíli said. Oh, well, there still had to be a bit of the story left despite how much she had already screwed it up.

"It's nice, this place. Did your husband do it himself?" Kíli said, wiping the bottom of his boot on a little box.

"Husband?" Adrianna repeated blankly, quite lost. "Oh, Bilbo! We're not married, not even related. We're just … acquaintances. Please, don't do that though! That box belongs to Bilbo's mother, and he wouldn't be happy if he came home to find mud on it."

_He wouldn't be happy if he found out that I let thirteen Dwarves into his house,_ she added in her head, but Adrianna kept her thoughts to herself for once.

"Gandalf didn't mention another Hobbit to us," Fíli said. "What's your name then?"

"Adrianna Roscioli, but everybody just calls me Addie. And I am not a Hobbit!" she said.

Kíli looked like he was about to ask her what she was, but Fíli had more important things on his mind. "Right then, Addie," he grinned, rubbing his hands together. "Where does Bilbo keep the ale?" Adrianna didn't get a chance say that she didn't know because at that moment, Dwalin entered.

"Fíli! Kíli! Come help us," he said.

"Mr. Dwalin!" Kíli said, clapping his shoulder.

"It's going to be a bit of a tight squeeze," Balin said. "Hurry up, lads, or we'll never get everybody in."

"Everybody?" Adrianna asked, quite forgetting at the moment the chaos Bilbo's house would soon be in.

_Ring!_

* * *

Adrianna had unintentionally turned into Bilbo for the evening, and she had a very good reason to. The story had already been skewed, and Adrianna didn't trust the Dwarves to not break anything that Bilbo might consider valuable. She stood in the middle of the Hobbit-hole, trying to remember all that had annoyed Bilbo the most and failing miserably.

Fíli and Kíli had managed to find the ale easily enough, and the others were either digging through the pantry or getting all of the plates set out on the table. Adrianna giggled slightly at the look Ori gave Gandalf while wiped his plate clean, and Dori was offering the wizard a cup of chamomile. Bombur already had all of the blocks of the cheese, and Adrianna was staring at him hopelessly.

"Don't worry, lassie," Bofur said, smiling at her exasperation.. "You won't need to wash an extra cheese knife; he eats it by the block." Adrianna rolled her eyes at that.

"Gandalf!" Adrianna yelled, and she pushed him away from the crowd as quickly as she could, almost running right into Kíli. Not that it would have mattered, of course. She probably could have run into Bilbo, and he still would have been standing. She hastily apologized before getting Gandalf into the emptier hall. "I do hope you reminded the dwarves to keep their manners because Bilbo will have a fit when he sees all of this, and I don't want to be skinned alive, thank you very much!"

"My dear Adrianna, they are quite a merry gathering, but I must ask you. Where did our Bilbo wander off to?"

"What? Um…" Adrianna looked anywhere but Gandalf. "About that."

"What did you say to him?"

Adrianna giggled nervously. "I may have let slip that there would be a couple of unexpected people coming, and, um, he'snotcomingbackntiltomorrowni ght," she finished quickly.

"Then we will have to find another solution, Adrianna, if you have indeed scared off our burglar," Gandalf said, and she could hear the anger in his tone.

"What?" Adrianna asked tensely. "Gandalf, all I want to do is get back to my sister. She means more to me than the world, and don't you dare try to stop me, old man. I need to know what you're going to do."

Gandalf just smiled mysteriously and said, "You shall just have to find out."

"'Scuse me, miss, but what should I do with my plate?" Ori asked, preventing Adrianna from giving Gandalf the glare he deserved.

"Here, Ori. Give it to me," Fíli said, holding out his hand.

"Wait-" she said, remembering exactly what would happen.

Too late. Fíli had already thrown it to Kíli who bounced it on his elbows before kicking it to whomever was in the kitchen; Adrianna couldn't quite remember. Fíli didn't stop there though, and pretty soon the Hobbit-hole had become a flurry of flying dishes. In the dining room, some of the Dwarves were hitting the silverware together, and before Adrianna could stop herself, she was saying, "Don't. You'll blunt the …"

"Oh, you hear that, lads? She says we'll blunt the knives," Bofur said, and then Kíli started to sing a song that was soon taken up by all Dwarves.

_Blunt the knives, bend the forks_

_Smash the bottles and burn the corks_

_Chip the glasses and crack the plates_

_That's what Roscioli hates!_

_Cut the cloth, tread on the fat_

_Leave the bones on the bedroom mat_

_Pour the milk on the pantry floor_

_Splash the wine on every door!_

_Dump the crocks in a boiling bowl_

_Pound them up with a thumping pole_

_When you're finished if they are whold_

_Send them down the hall to roll_

_That's what Roscioli hates!_

The Dwarves burst into laughter when Adrianna had finally run to the dining room table – she was still nervous that they would break something despite what Peter Jackson had shown – but the bowls and plates were already there, sitting, perfectly clean, and waiting to be put away. Adrianna blushed lightly.

_Ring!_

__**Let me first say thank you so much to all the people who have favorited/followed this story, and a super-special thanks to the people who reviewed: Cerulean89, AkaMizu-chan, Twilightmoonstar, DirenKyo, and ZabuzasGirl. Love you guys!**

**Worldnerd12**


	3. An Unexpected Invitation

_Previously on _The Real World_:_

Dump the crocks in a boiling bowl

Pound them up with a thumping pole

When you're finished if they are whold

Send them down the hall to roll

That's what Roscioli hates!

_The Dwarves burst into laughter when Adrianna had finally run to the dining room table – she was still nervous that they would break something despite what Peter Jackson had shown – but there the bowls and plates were, sitting perfectly clean and waiting to be put away. Adrianna blushed lightly._

Ring!

**Chapter 3: An Unexpected Invitation**

"He's here," Gandalf said, getting up to allow Thorin Oakenshield in. While following him, Adrianna gulped nervously. Thorin had been a force to be reckoned with in the movie, and Adrianna was sure it would a hundred times worse up close when she over a foot shorter than him. She would end up humiliated. Again. And judging from the Dwarves behind her, she would have an audience as well.

The door opened, and Adrianna twisted her hands together when she heard a deep voice say, "Gandalf."

Thorin stepped through the door, taking off his cloak. "Thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way. Twice."

Adrianna twisted her hands, waiting Gandalf to introduce them; she certainly wasn't going to be the first one to talk.

"Ah, everybody makes mistakes now and then, don't they?" Gandalf said. He ushered Arianna forward who reluctantly complied, trying hard to keep her hands from shaking under the look Thorin gave her. "Adrianna, my dear, let me introduce you to Thorin Oakenshield, the leader of this company."

Adrianna stepped into view, and Thorin scowled. "I cannot take a woman with us, Gandalf. I was giving you the benefit of the doubt before, but I will not take a woman-"

"No, no," Adrianna interrupted, earning a glare from Thorin, "You see, I'm not actually going _with _you to Erebor-"

"Yes, she is coming, and either you accept that, or you will not have my help," Gandalf said loudly with a smile.

"What?" Adrianna cried, staring up at the wizard. "I did not agree to that, old man! I need to get back to-"

"And I will help you, Ms. Roscioli," Gandalf said quickly, and Adrianna glowered at him, but he turned back to Thorin. "While Ms. Roscioli isn't a Hobbit, she is very small-" Many of the Dwarves nodded at that. "-and very like a Hobbit. I believe she will be of remarkable importance to you in your journey. There may just be some things she will be able to do much better than you. That is, of course, if she can realize the right thing to say at the right time." Adrianna understood what _this _look was for.

"She is a woman," Thorin reiterated. "And she looks like an Elf."

"But she is not from these parts, Thorin, and she is much shorter than an Elf. You do not even know her abilities, so how could you judge her based solely on her size?" Gandalf countered.

Here Thorin faced her, and Adrianna shrank against the wall, wondering if whatever power sent her here would be able to send her to a beautiful, sunny beach at the moment with a martini with olives - a lot of olives. "You, Adrianna, which weapon do you prefer? Axe or sword?"

Trembling, Adrianna stammered, "I don't actually fight…"

"You are making a mockery of my father and my grandfather, Gandalf! You expect me to let a weak little girl who cannot fight or fend for herself tag along on a quest that will have danger at every turn. She doesn't even know how to use a sword!" Thorin roared.

_Weak little girl?! _Adrianna thought, fuming. _I'll show you weak little girl._

"You are forgetting, Thorin Oakenshield, that there are many different strengths."

"She will not last a day."

"You will either accept my help, taking Adrianna with you, or you will brave this quest alone!" Gandalf said, his voice rising with each word.

Adrianna wisely kept her mouth shut, not wanting to be in the middle of a brawl between a Dwarf and Gandalf, though a part of her desperately wanted to protest Thorin's assumption that she was weak.

Thorin grimaced, and Adrianna could tell he was waging a war in his head. She assumed that this was the stubbornness of the Dwarves, though Adrianna knew that if Greta had heard what Thorin was saying about weak women, the Dwarves would quail beneath the feminist's rage. She smirked at the thought.

"Fine. Then let us sit and discuss it somewhere more appropriate." Thorin threw his cloak to Adrianna who caught it with some difficulty, and the Dwarves left into the dining room without giving her a second glance. Adrianna huffed angrily at the cloak and threw it down next to Dwalin's cloak, not even caring about the excuse she would give Thorin.

When Adrianna got to the dining room, there wasn't room to swing a kettle. Thorin and Gandalf sat at the head of the table with Bombur on the other end. The others were squashed against each other while all the Dwarves listened intently to what Gandalf was saying.

Her eyes wandered over the Dwarves while she quietly stood behind Gandalf. Bofur stood out easily with his whacky hat, and with a start, she realized that nobody would be aware of their fate. A little further down was Glóin, who had no idea that his son would be the one Dwarf permitted to sail to the Blessed Realm. Adrianna caught her breath as she looked at Fíli and Kíli. The two youngest couldn't know just how short their life would be, that their dying for their uncle would be in vain.

"... Thorin, do not question me endlessly on Ms. Roscioli's presence. I decided to choose her because the task in mind will require a great deal of stealth and no small degree of courage."

"Of which your friend lacks in both," Thorin said.

That was it. Even Adrianna had a limit to the amount of insults she could endure. Clenching her fists, Adrianna cried out indignantly, "Oi! You don't know the first thing about me!"

Thorin glared at her. "I know that you cannot fight, Adrianna. Gandalf, I do not trust her-"

"Guess it works both ways then," Adrianna said angrily, crossing her arms.

Thorin ignored her. "She will be a distraction."

"Ms. Roscioli will be able to pass by unseen by most, something more difficult for a Dwarf to do, and she is very well educated in some areas that you, I'm afraid, lack. Remember that we have a deal, Thorin, and don't forget it," Gandalf said sternly, leaving no room for argument.

Thorin sighed. "Fine. We will do it your way." He turned to Balin. "Give her the contract."

"There you go, Addie. It just explains the payment, funeral arrangements, so forth," he said, handing it to her.

Adrianna took it, her eyes scanning the very long piece of paper. Bilbo had made it out okay, but then again she wasn't Bilbo. She read it, realizing that there would be many possible outcomes for her. "Incineration?" she muttered faintly to herself. She thought she was prepared for all the possibilities the contract offered, but she still felt light-headed at the mention of incineration.

"Aye, he'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye," Bofur said. "Nasty little dragon, that Smaug is."

Adrianna had completely forgotten about Bofur's little monologue. "That's not helping," she snapped, breathing in deeply and thinking, _do not faint, do not faint, do not faint._ They already thought so little of her, and it would only be worse if she proved them right.

"You alright, Addie?" Balin asked.

Adrianna nodded. "Yep, I'm fine. Perfectly fine."

"Think furnace with wings," Bofur supplied.

Adrianna cut him off before he could finish. "I am quite aware of what Smaug is capable of, thank you very much, so I don't need you to mention it. It's just that in London we don't have any dragons or Dw-"

"I think Adrianna and I should speak in private," Gandalf said, giving her the look. "We will be back momentarily." The wizard guided her to the very same hall they had just been in.

When they were out of earshot of the others, Gandalf turned to Adrianna with a frown. "You are letting too many things slip, Adrianna Roscioli. They are already wary of you, and you cannot give them any more reason not to trust you. You will want to your mouth shut, and you will need to have a firm history if any of these Dwarves aren't to get more suspicious, do you understand?"

Adrianna nodded slowly.

"Good, so I will go over exactly what you will say if anybody asks. You are from a village far up north, and you traveled to the Shire to seek refuge since another country has declared war against your allies. You do not know much about Middle-Earth's ways, only your own. Stick to that and do not stray from what I told you."

"Why couldn't you just go grab Bilbo if you're that worried about me screwing up?"

"Because he is most likely at the smial of his mother's side, and it would not be a good idea to let little Tooks trail after us. So you see, I need you to come given that you stick to the story."

"I will do that if you promise to help me get back," Adrianna countered.

"My dear, you said yourself that you are not even sure if you're alive in that world."

"I don't care. Quinn needs me, Gandalf. My parents don't give a damn about what happens to us, and my uncle is probably still abroad. I am the only person she has left. _I'm _the one who tucks her in at night. _I'm _the one who gets her to and from school safely. _I'm _the one who makes sure she's got food and clothes. The most my uncle can do is make sure we have a home and enough money; his job doesn't allow him to do anything else. Don't you understand? I _need _to go back." Adrianna could feel her eyes brimming by the end of her little speech, but she wiped them away quickly.

Gandalf stepped away and sighed. "You _were _the one, my dear. The chances are not good that you are alive, and you know that."

"But if there is even the slimmest chance I can get back, Gandalf, I will."

He sighed. "I will help you if I can, but I cannot guarantee the results. It would be better if you spoke to Lord Elrond about this, but you would need to join the quest."

Adrianna bit her lip, pondering Gandalf's offer. "Can you give until morning to decide?"

* * *

_Far over the Misty Mountains cold_

_To dungeons deep and caverns old_

_We must away ere break of day_

_To find our long, forgotten gold_

_The pines were roaring on the height_

_The winds were moaning in the night_

_The fire was red, it's flaming spread_

_The trees like torches, blazed with light_

Adrianna shuddered at the song. She sat, curled up on the floor with Quinn's photo in her hand, gazing into the night sky. The flashes of the goblins jeering in the grotto and the Wargs leaping onto the trees filled her mind. The Dwarves had no idea just how true that song would ring. It was if the Valor were warning them against the future.

Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back. The words stirred something in her heart, and Adrianna sighed. She had always had Greta, just like Quinn had always had her, but now she didn't. There was nobody to turn to, no shoulder to cry on, for nobody understood.

She was living a lie. The Dwarves had no idea what they were up against. Adrianna did, but she couldn't say anything, not even to save Fíli, Kíli, and Thorin. Did the Dwarf King know of the possibility that none in the line of Durin would survive to claim the kingdom as theirs? Soon they would be dead, encased within stone. It didn't matter whether they took back Erebor.

Her thoughts drifted back to her home and to her sister, envying the Dwarves for not realizing where the true treasure lay…

Adrianna woke with a start, not realizing she had fallen asleep. There was a kink in her neck from where she had leaned her head, and there was a rumbling sound coming from outside her door. Adrianna wondered if the Dwarves were leaving already, but the sun was just beginning to rise over the hills of the Shire. Adrianna made her way to the door and quietly slipped out into the hall.

It didn't take her long to find the source of the noise. The Dwarves were sprawled out in various positions, snoring. Very loudly. It was like a bulldozer was right outside Bag End, and for the life of her, Adrianna couldn't understand why nobody wasn't waking up. Bombur, Dwalin, Óin, and Glóin were the main perpetrators, but any one of the Dwarves was loud enough to wake up the Orcs in Mordor.

Though there was no need for stealth, Adrianna tip-toed into the pantry, expecting that all of the Dwarves would be too busy trying to wake up the dead with their noise to notice. She searched the shelves, feeling in the back corners, determined to find something suitable for breakfast. Her hands finally closed on a loaf of bread, and triumphant, she headed for the empty dining room.

Except it wasn't empty.

Fíli and Kíli were playing a game that suspiciously looked like Speed, except the cards had weird squiggles on them instead of numbers. Kíli slapped a card down in the middle pile while Fíli did the same. Adrianna was content to watch the two brothers fight like little boys, arguing and slapping each other's hands away all the while managing to keep quiet enough not to wake the others. Kíli was down to his last card while Fíli held three. He waited for Fíli to put down a card, but Fíli shuffled them and put his cards all down at once.

"Ha!" Fíli said proudly. He then muttered something in a strange language, and Kíli scowled. Adrianna's gaze lingered on Kíli. She tried to imagine the young and carefree Dwarf laying on a battlefield, pale and stiller than a statue, but it was impossible.

"Fíli! Kíli! You're supposed to be getting the ponies ready," Thorin said, and both brothers jumped. "Be ready in two hours, and you can use Myrtle for a pack horse. No girl is coming with us."

Adrianna gritted her teeth as she decided, and it was Thorin's little comment that had made up her mind. He was right after all; no girl was going with them.

_Luckily I'm not a girl, _she thought as she signed the contract.

**Good news for you is that I'm sick, so there wasn't much else I could do besides write.**

**I promise that there will be more romance in the future. I know there's not much right now besides the fact that Adrianna thinks he's super hot (which he is.)**

**And now to answer the questions. angelrider13: Sorry, no. I kept trying to figure out how to write Adrianna and Bilbo together without sounding too much like some of the other stories, but it was getting to be a big Mary-Sue fic. Anonymous guest: Like I said before about Bilbo not going on the journey. Sorry if you weren't expecting that. And don't worry about the future lines. I already have a much different idea on the trolls and the Misty Mountains for Adrianna. And looking back I do realize how badly I timed it out and how awkward it was the first time Adrianna saw the Shire. Thanks for pointing that out.**

**Quick shout out to all the people who followed/favorited this story, and double thanks to all the people who have reviewed: DirenKyo, Cerulean89, angelrider13, AkaMizu-chan, Cyric Nox, ZabuzasGirl, and littledhampir13. All of you are awesome!**

**BTW: When it comes to the fact about whether Adrianna thinks she's dead or not, she's like that because she doesn't want to face the truth. Just in case y'all were wondering.**

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**

**Worldnerd12**


	4. A Whole New World

_Previously on _The Real World_:_

_"Ha!" Fíli said proudly. He then muttered something in a strange language, and Kíli scowled._

_"Fíli! Kíli! You're supposed to be getting the ponies ready," Thorin said, and both brothers jumped. "Be ready in two hours, and you can use Myrtle for a pack horse. No girl is coming with us."_

_Adrianna gritted her teeth as she decided, and it was Thorin's little comment that had made up her mind. He was right after all; no girl was going with them._

Luckily I'm not a girl_, she thought as she signed the contract._

**Chapter 4: A Whole New World**

It was complete chaos. Locker Clean-Out Day at secondary school was a breeze compared to this. The Dwarves roared at each other with half-eaten food rolling around in their mouths, arguing over which things would go on which pony. Bombur had insisted that he be in charge on the food when his brother pointed out the obvious. (There wouldn't be any food left if you had it.") Meanwhile Dori and Nori were haranguing poor little Ori for only taking a slingshot, and eventually Dori gave him one of his extra swords.

Meanwhile, Adrianna stood in front of Myrtle, trying to pluck up the courage to mount her. If she had been her normal size, Adrianna could've have ridden Myrtle with no problem, but as it was, she was much shorter than she would have liked. Right now Myrtle was the size of the ancient cave bear to Adrianna, and she wasn't too keen on riding her for the entire journey.

Maybe if they had a cat.

Adrianna glanced up and saw Thorin turn away, but not before smirking. She curled her fists.

"Don't tell me you're already nervous," Fíli said, coming up behind and slinging a bag over his own pony. Kíli was already sitting on his own pony, eyeing her curiously.

"If I fall off, it'll be like falling off a cliff," Adrianna muttered in response. She looked back up at Myrtle, wondering if she should try to climb a tree first. "And I've never ridden a horse before. Wouldn't you be nervous if you were in my position?"

"Nope," Fíli said.

Suddenly he picked her up as easily as if she had been Quinn's size. "Hey! What're you doing?" Adrianna protested, and before she knew it, she was sitting on the pony behind Kíli. She automatically wrapped her arms around him to keep from falling off, blushing lightly.

"We don't want our burglar falling off a pony before we even reach Erebor, do we?" Fíli asked before swinging his leg over his mount and pulling himself up with little effort.

"Don't worry, Addie, I'll make sure nothing happens to you," Kíli said lightly, glancing back and giving her a grin. If she wasn't blushing before, she was now. Thankfully Kíli and Fíli were at the back on the group, and she simply had to hide her face behind Kíli, though she thought Fíli saw it.

"Just don't let me fall off."

* * *

They were out of civilization soon enough, but judging from the landscape, they were still safely within the borders of the Shire. Adrianna had earned some odd looks from several of the Dwarves, most notably Dwalin and Dori. She assumed that they, like Thorin, thought that she would only end up getting herself killed, and she was entirely aware of the fact that she was the only member unarmed, but Adrianna didn't want to imagine Thorin's face if she asked him for a spare knife.

Adrianna had finally plucked the courage to ask Fíli and Kíli about Middle-Earth and their lives before the quest, and the two brothers had been kind enough to answer her questions and amused her with stories from when they were younger. According to Fíli, the one reason Kíli had taken up archery was because Fíli kept beating him at swordplay, but Kíli was quick to repudiate him, claiming that he was more than adequate with the blade. After a while Fíli got bored and struck up a conversation with Bombur, leaving Kíli and Adrianna together in silence.

Adrianna noticed the sun start to sink, and after a while Kíli broke the silence, asking her, "So where exactly are you from, Addie. We're all trying to figure out what race you are, and Thorin and Dwalin think you're just an Elf who shrank, but I don't think an Elf would ever willingly travel with a company of Dwarves."

Adrianna bit her lip, wondering how to answer. In the end she decided on the truth - sort of. "I honestly don't know, Kíli. I wish I could provide you Dwarves some ease of mind, but I promise to let you know if I find out. That's the deal that Gandalf and I made: I help him and in return he helps me. The reason I agreed to come was because I'm just trying to get back to my family and friends, not for the gold."

"Don't your parents know that you're here?"

Adrianna laughed humorlessly. "I haven't seen my parents for over two years, Kíli. They couldn't care less about my sister and I; it was my uncle who took Quinn and I in after … yeah." Adrianna had not meant to bring up her parents. She had always refused to talk about them if she could help it since it was still a sore subject, and Kíli apparently realized that it was strictly off-limits.

"I'm sorry. I mean, for whatever happened," Kíli said after a pause.

Adrianna snuggled closer to him. "Don't be. It was a relief when they finally left. I never wanted Quinn to grow up in that life, and now the only thing she has to decide is whether I should read her _Where the Wild Things Are _or _Snow White and the Seven Dwarves_."

"Am I supposed to be familiar with _Snow White and the Seven Dwarves_?" Kíli asked.

She giggled. "It's a fairy tale where I come from. London has never had any Dwarves, or Elves for that matter, so they just faded into myths, though you'll be pleased to know that Elves are portrayed as little people who live at the North Pole working for Santa Clause year-round."

Kíli laughed. "And what about the Dwarves?"

Adrianna yawned as the sun continued to sink below the horizon. "You have much better names than Bashful and Sleepy."

"You're kidding. Bashful?"

"Along with Happy, Dopey, Grumpy, Doc, and Sneezy." At that exact moment in front of them Ori gave a little sneeze. "Though I think Ori is secretly Sneezy in disguise." That earned a chuckle from Kíli.

"We'll stop here for the night," Thorin called back, and Adrianna realized she had started to fall asleep on Kíli. "It's getting too dark to carry on."

"It's not that dark," Adrianna said, too quietly for anybody to hear. At the exact moment a crow fluttered away, and Adrianna glanced back behind her, but there was no sun. Looking back she realized that it was indeed dark, but somehow she could still make out every outline of the trees. She shook her head and turned away as Kíli slid off with relative ease before offering Adrianna his hand. The other Dwarves were already setting up camp with Thorin yelling instructions to various Dwarves.

"I have to help Fíli with the ponies," he said, and Adrianna couldn't help but feel a little nervous at the prospect of facing the other Dwarves alone.

"Adrianna, help Bofur with the food," Thorin said, and Adrianna would've told him that he was being chauvinistic, except that Bofur merrily waved her over, and Adrianna decided that Bofur would be much nicer to talk to than Thorin.

He was.

The Dwarf kept her entertained with outrageous stories while Bombur tended to the stew that was slowly cooking over the flames. Bifur was with them as well, but after a short explanation from Bofur about how the Orc axe had impaired his language, causing him to only speak in Khuzdûl, the secret Dwarf language which Adrianna knew about as well as she knew Swahili, she realized she would have to rely on Bofur to translate.

One by one the others slowly joined them around the fire, and Adrianna scooted back so that she wouldn't be so near the middle. Laying down on her stomach and resting her chin on the heels her hands, she was content to listen to Bofur's latest tale.

"… but Bombur hadn't realized Dís meant that to be Thorin's meal, so after he already had to deal with those two little misfits who started the fight in the square, he thought that the other food was for him, not his nephews. When Fíli and Kíli were allowed to come out of their room, they thought that they were also supposed to get their own dinner as part of the punishment. Keep in mind that the wee little lads were only twenty-three at the time, and they weren't allowed to go into the woods. Not that they paid attention to that rule, but that's beside the point. Fíli convinced Kíli that Balin's house would be good for hunting, so they pillaged his food, and those two were still there when Balin came home."

Adrianna giggled while Bofur finished the story. Bombur had the decency to look ashamed. "What did Balin do after he found them?"

"Told their mother. I didn't stick around long enough to see her rage, which I'm told was a sight to behold," he said while Ori was helping Bifur ladled the stew into bowls for all of them.

"Don't remind me," Fíli said as he and Kíli joined the circle. Kíli placed himself beside Adrianna before accepting the stew from Ori. "We had to clean the outhouse as punishment." He visibly shuddered at the memory, and Adrianna stifled a snigger, passing it as a cough.

"Balin, Dori, you'll be taking first watch. Get some sleep everybody. We start at first light," Thorin said.

The Dwarves dragged their cloaks everywhere, claiming the softest spots before anybody else took them. Adrianna was forced into a corner next to Kíli, which had her blushing, though luckily the dark hid it from the others. She had wanted to talk to Kíli before she went to sleep, but despite the uneven ground, she fell asleep the moment her head touched the ground.

* * *

The smooth little hills slowly transformed into uneven rocky terrain, and it was only more difficult when it rained. Several times they had been forced to stop because the ponies wouldn't be able to cross the flooded spaces. Drenched to the skin, Adrianna would try her best to help locate a place to stay, but after slipping again and again on the rock, she was content to sit with whichever Dwarves would stay with the ponies while the others scouted out places to stay until the rain passed. The Dwarves were built to withstand the elements, but Adrianna was not. While they just sat under the outcroppings they had managed to find, talking as if it was summer, Adrianna would huddle under her cloak, shivering.

Luckily, she had found herself with several friends among the Dwarves besides Kíli, listening and learning intently. Ori, the sweet Dwarf he was, spent much time writing in his little journal, insisting that one day it could help others. The clown of the group was Bofur, and he had been one of the most excepting of having a woman accompany them, never missing a chance to crack a joke now and then, usually at the expense of Bombur, and Fíli was kind enough, though once in a while Adrianna caught him giving her or Kíli an odd look.

She still stayed clear of the other Dwarves, most of whom were still not satisfied with her, and Adrianna knew she had yet to prove herself, but she had hoped they at least might give her the benefit of the doubt. She was wrong. During the nights, it was usually Fíli and Kíli's job to mind the ponies, so Adrianna sat with Ori, sometimes with her asking questions, but usually Adrianna just curled her knees up to her chest and listened to the others roar with laughter.

One afternoon they stopped on a small hill with the ruins of an old building, though it was nothing more than an empty shell of wood with a pile of stones Adrianna guessed was once a fireplace. Gandalf and Thorin were talking in low tones away from the rest of them, and soon Bofur beckoned Adrianna over to help unload the food.

"Do you know what they're talking about?" Adrianna quietly asked.

"About as much as you do," he replied. "You've got a wizard and a king without a mountain. Could be talking about anything."

At that moment Gandalf strode past them, and Adrianna didn't realize that he was going to leave until he was right by his horse. "Wait," she said. Gandalf was the reason she was on this quest after all, and if he left then there was no telling whether or not Thorin would kick her out then and there. "Wait, Gandalf!" She ran past the other Dwarves, and Gandalf paused long enough to turn around.

"Trolls are out there, old man," she whispered too low for the Dwarves to overhear. "And you're the one who finds the sword for Bilbo. You can't just leave."

Gandalf glanced up quickly before leaning close to her and whispering, "Do you remember what happens with the trolls then? Is it crucial for me to be here?"

"I … I can't remember," she whispered back. And she couldn't. Adrianna fought the fear rising up in her. It was if the words she wanted to say were on the tip of her tongue, but for the life of her, she couldn't remember. There were trolls, yes, but the rest of it was blurry, as if everything was cloaked in a muddled fog. She twisted her hands nervously. What else had she forgotten?

Gandalf stood up and looked down at her. "Because if it is not, I am leaving. I've had enough of Dwarves for one day," he muttered, swinging himself up onto the horse and riding back the way they came. Adrianna just watched him go, feeling more and more like an outsider the farther away Gandalf rode.

"Come on, Bombur, we're hungry!" Thorin called, and Adrianna was reminded of the rest of the Dwarves. She turned back while Bombur started gathering all of the food into his arms and hurry to a little pile of ashes that had no doubt once been used for fires. Adrianna found herself hoping that Kíli had managed to shoot some rabbit or something because while Bombur was a good cook, it did become a little tiring to eat the same thing ever day. Maybe tonight would be a treat.

It wasn't.

By the time the same old stew they had every night was ready, only Fíli and Kíli weren't there. Bofur was handing out supper to everybody, and eventually Adrianna received hers at the same time Ori did. The little Dwarf was too busy to keep Adrianna company that night, instead scribbling in his journal, so Adrianna could only watch the sky get darker and darker, wondering if this Gandalf really would save the Dwarves from the trolls.

"When will he come back?" she asked Balin, who was sitting next to her.

"Best not rush a wizard, lassie," he said. "Go tell the lads the food's ready, will you?"

That wasn't necessary since at that moment Fíli came crashing through the trees, eyes darting from one Dwarf to another until they rested on his uncle. "Uh, we have a slight problem. A couple of trolls have Daisy and Bungo."

As one the Dwarves stood up, grabbing their axes and swords. Ori stuffed his journal into his pocket and took out his slingshot, but Dori slapped that away and pressed a sword into his hands. Dwalin growled and swung one his many weapons around, nodding for Fíli to lead the way.

Adrianna made to get up while the Dwarves ran for the woods, but a hand pulled her back, and she found herself face to face with Thorin. "Stay with the camp," he growled. "You'll only be in the way."

"You won't be able to defeat trolls with brute strength," she retorted, flushing with anger. "Sometimes you just need to be smart, and I could help." After all, she was the one who had managed to throw the thugs off her tail after her parents fled, safely relocating Quinn and herself to London, not Thorin. Neither he nor any of the other Dwarves knew what she was capable of when it came down to it.

"You'll be the death of us all. This is no place for a woman. Now stay watch the camp," he said before taking off after the Dwarves.

Adrianna couldn't believe that Thorin and the others thought so little of her. Yes, she wasn't nowhere near as strong as Dwalin or as bold as Glóin, but she knew how to stay alive. Not many other teenagers could have dealt with the mess left behind from her parents and still have Quinn retain her blissful ignorance of the real world.

Greta would have followed the Dwarves without a second thought, not caring about the repercussions, but Adrianna wasn't as fearless as her friend. Perhaps Thorin was right that she wouldn't be any use in battle and would only get in the way, but–

What was she thinking!? If Greta had been standing there, she would have slapped Adrianna upside the head for her thoughts. This was her chance to prove herself as more than a three-foot-tall girl, and she was just letting it slide by?

Forget what those idiots told her; if she didn't help them, they would end up as bones littering the cave and nothing more, and she had already wriggled her way out of a seemingly hopeless situation once, and she could do it again.

**Awesome news is that I am all done with exams, so I have a whole bunch of time this weekend to write. Hopefully that means that you'll only have to wait the weekend. I know that the cliffie is mean, but it won't be that long of a wait.**

**I hoped you all liked this chapter enough to review. That's the only way I can tell how good or bad my story is, so please please please review! Is the pace too fast? Too slow? Don't like that Adrianna has a some history? Let me know!**

**As before, I would like to thank my reviewers: Akira Darkness, Alexandra Camba, angelrider13, AkaMizu-chan, WarriorDragonElf54, and ZabuzasGirl. Keep 'em coming!**

**Worldnerd12**

**PS: If anybody was wondering, I got the nickname Casper from my friends on swim team since that's what they sometimes called me. (Though they were much nicer about it)**


	5. Nobody, Somebody, Anybody, Everybody

_Previously on _The Real World_:_

_"You'll be the death of us all. This is no place for a woman. Now watch the camp," he said before taking off after the Dwarves._

_Adrianna couldn't believe that Thorin and the others thought so little of her. Yes, she wasn't nowhere near as strong as Dwalin or as bold as Glóin, but she knew how to stay alive. Not many other teenagers could have dealt with the mess left behind from her parents and still have Quinn retain her blissful ignorance of the real world._

_Greta would have followed the Dwarves without a second thought, not caring about the repercussions, but Adrianna wasn't as fearless as her friend. Perhaps Thorin was right that she wouldn't be any use in battle, but – what was she thinking!? If Greta had been standing there, she would have slapped Adrianna upside the head for her thoughts. This was her chance to prove herself as more than a three-foot-tall girl, and she was just letting it slide by?_

_Forget what those idiots told her; if she didn't help them, they would end up as bones littering the cave and nothing more._

**Chapter 5: Nobody, Somebody, Anybody, Everybody**

Adrianna knew she was close when she saw the fire up ahead. She could spot the shadows moving in the distance and several loud voices that she immediately identified as the trolls talking. An owl hooted overhead, and Adrianna crept closer, settling herself behind a large rock under a tree with low hanging branches, concealing herself as she surveyed the scene before her.

One of the trolls was spinning half of the Dwarves on a spit above the fire while the rest, including Kíli, were tied up in sacks. They were all struggling to free themselves, but Adrianna knew it would do no good. Their weapons were on the other side, piled on top of one another at the edge of the clearing, just like their owners.

What had Bilbo done? She faintly remembered the sun and the Dwarves yelling at him, angry about something. He had been trying to persuade the trolls to take their time, but that wouldn't be possible in this situation since the moment Adrianna spoke up she would be caught, and judging by the state of the Dwarves, she was their only hope for survival.

"… don't fancy being turned to stone," one of the trolls said.

Yes! Bilbo had stalled them until the sun came up, but how she supposed to? Adrianna was no fighter, the Dwarves had been right about that, but she gotten out of sticky situations before, and she told herself that the only difference was there were three stupid trolls instead of Frax and his thugs.

Adrianna slowly looked between the Dwarves and the pile of weapons, starting to devise a plan. There was no way she would be able to beat the trolls, but trickery wasn't necessarily out of the question.

While the trolls were occupied arguing with each other about which Dwarf was theirs, Adrianna darted from tree to rock and back to tree, constantly glancing to see if any of the trolls were looking her way. They weren't, and soon enough Adrianna was within five feet of the weapons.

A long knife she recognized as Fíli's was the closest besides a random throwing axe. She crouched low, waiting patiently. Suddenly the biggest troll grabbed another's nose, and she took her chance. Staying low to the ground, Adrianna scurried out from behind her rock, grabbed the knife, and rolled back behind the tree just as a troll the others called Bert turned around.

"I still don't see why we can't sandwich them together," he whined, scratching his bum; Adrianna wrinkled her nose.

"Quit your yappin'!" the other snapped.

Adrianna risked discovery by peeking out from behind her tree. All of the Dwarves were still yelling at both each other and the trolls. She couldn't tell if they were trying to annoy the trolls to death or trying to get the trolls to kill them faster, but Adrianna refused to let herself be distracted by the rather colorful comments they were making.

"That would be the most delicious way to cook them," Bert said happily, and Adrianna scampered, dodging through the trees until she was right behind the rock where Kíli and the rest had been hastily stuffed into the bags. Adrianna noted that they smelled like a mix between rotten eggs and the lavatories.

Thorin was the closest, leaning up against two rocks with a small gap just wide enough for Adrianna to slip through.

"_I'm behind you_," Adrianna breathed as loudly as she dared. Thorin started, but did nothing else. Several other Dwarves also fell silent at Thorin's jump. "Don't do anything yet," she ordered in a soft voice, praying that Thorin would suck in his pride and do as she said for once.

Adrianna grabbed the lip of the sack and started to saw through the bag with Fíli's knife. It was much harder than she anticipated. Three different times she was forced to press herself against the rock while one of the trolls teased the Dwarves in the bags, but soon enough there was a big enough slit for the Dwarf to get through.

Thorin started to get up, but Adrianna seized him. "No!" she cried, a little too loudly. Kíli's head whipped around as Thorin grudgingly sat back down. They locked eyes, and Adrianna brought her finger up to her lips. Kíli nodded while she pressed Fíli's knife into the king's hand, whispering, "Wait."

Luckily the trolls hadn't heard her, but she didn't want to press her luck. Quickly and quietly, she raced to the side of the clearing farthest from the Dwarves, gathering as many stones as she could into her pocket. Adrianna glanced back, and Thorin was right where she had left him. She soon spotted a short enough tree. Jumping and swinging her leg over the lowest branch, she began to climb.

She had never been a fan of heights, and she had never been a fan of trolls. Putting the two together only made it worse. _Do not look down. Do not look down. Do not look down, _Adrianna repeatedly told herself, focusing on reaching for each branch and pushing herself up until she finally had a small window with a clear line of sight to the clearing.

Steeling herself and praying to the Valar for just a little luck, Adrianna grabbed the first stone from her pocket and threw it.

Bulls-eye.

"Ow!" Bert squealed. "Something just hit me, Tom!"

"Ah, shut up," Tom growled.

She waited ten seconds, and then Adrianna threw another one, this time smacking Tom in the back of the head.

"Don't do that, William!" he (she assumed it was a he) growled. "Quit acting like you're the best."

"I didn't do nothin'," William protested.

"See, see? Told you it was real," Bert said, and Tom pushed him away.

Two more stones.

"Who did that?" William roared as Adrianna dropped onto a lower branch before letting herself fall to the ground, rolling to minimize the impact. "If it was you, Tom, then you're gettin' a conkin'." Adrianna ran a little further back, still keeping the trolls within earshot.

"Don't point at me," Tom argued. "It was Bert."

"Was not!"

At that precise moment, Adrianna put her two fingers to her mouth and whistled as loudly as she could. Suddenly the trolls stopped arguing, and she whistled again, already running in the opposite direction.

"It came from over there!" Bert said excitedly. "Are you gonna go get it?"

"Bert, watch the ferrets!" Tom yelled, and he and William took off running towards her. Adrianna could only hope that Thorin was taking advantage of the trolls' distraction.

Soon the clearing was out of sight as Adrianna sprinted, pushing her short legs faster and faster. As a football player, she was used to running, but she wasn't used to using twice the effort. The two trolls crashed through the woods, uprooting trees, and then Adrianna swung herself into a thicker tree that the trolls would have difficulty knocking down, scuttling up like a crazed monkey.

Tom stopped right beneath the tree, spinning back and forth, and Adrianna quickly rolled so she wouldn't have her hiding place revealed if the stupid troll looked up. "Come out here so I can eat you!" he yowled gleefully.

Adrianna giggled loudly and plucked up the little courage she had. "Don't you know who I am? I'm Nobody, and only Anybody can me. Might as well walk away right now."

"I _am _anybody!" Tom argued, ripping a small tree into his hands and holding it like a club.

"No, you aren't Anybody. You're Somebody, and Somebody can't eat Nobody," Adrianna yelled back.

"But anybody can eat you," Tom complained, getting more confused by the minute.

"You're right. Anybody can eat me, but you're not Anybody."

"I am somebody! I am, I am, I am!"

"Correct. You're Somebody," Adrianna explained slowly as if she were saying this to a four-year-old, "And Somebody can eat Everybody, not Nobody, so if Somebody wants to eat Nobody, then you should go get Anybody," she said, stifling her laughter.

"Then where is Anybody?" Tom asked, apparently finally catching on.

"Where Somebody isn't. Go on, go get Anybody," Adrianna pushed, and she caught little sounds of metal clashing and a troll howling.

Tom growled. "Don't anywhere, Nobody. I'm going to get Anybody."

Adrianna watched Tom plod back to the clearing, and she gave a little sigh of relief. Despite the multiple times the plan could have gone awry, it was going smoothly, judging by the yells of the Dwarves in the distance. She double-checked that Tom had indeed left and then lowered herself onto the branch, stretching her leg out to get a good footing on the branch below her.

"HA!"

William had been hiding until "Nobody" had decided to show herself. In her panic, the fact that William didn't leave with Tom had eluded her completely. Adrianna shrieked and lost her grip, plummeting to the ground from the upper branches. The ground rushed upwards for a small moment, giving her the feeling of a roller-coaster at Six Flags. She then protected her face with her arms, waiting for the jarring impact.

_CRACK!_

It echoed like gunfire, and a stab of agony shot up through her leg. Adrianna screamed, clutching her broken ankle and curling into herself with tears streaming down her cheeks. It was the day Frax had came to her house all over again, only this time it was Adrianna's ankle, not her arm.

"I found Nobody!" William cheered, and she tried to crawl away, but it was hopeless. He bent down and scooped her up. Gripping Adrianna around the middle and holding her up to his eye level, the troll peered at her. "You don't look like much, Nobody, but I suppose I am Anybody if I can eat you."

Adrianna was close to blacking out from the pain, and she tried to protest, but it was too weak for the troll to even hear. All she could see was William holding her above his mouth, ready to drop her into his great maw.

"_Daro!_" somebody cried in a language that sounded much different from both Westron and Khuzdûl, more graceful and fluent. Adrianna tried to twist her neck to see who had come to her rescue, but the troll suddenly yelped in pain and threw her to the ground. There was a blinding pain as her head hit a stone and then instant darkness.

* * *

Kíli fought the fear rising in his chest as the trolls became more and more enraged at each other. Whatever Adrianna was doing, he hoped she realized just how dangerous it was to infuriate hungry trolls. Two more stones hit one of the trolls, and all but one took off in the general direction Adrianna was hidden. He felt his heart drop as the trolls threw trees aside like they were nothing more than.

Bert stared after them, and suddenly Thorin ripped through his own sack with one of Fíli's hunting knives in his hand. In one swift motion, he tore through Kíli's bag before releasing Óin from his own. Kíli dove as Bert the Troll yelled in anger and grabbed at him. Thorin stabbed the troll in the arm, and he howled while Kíli sprinted for the weapons.

"Bombur! Óin!" Kíli yelled, tossing them some hammers.

"Get the others down!" Thorin yelled, striking Bert in the foot.

Kíli and Bombur took one side of the spit, Óin the other, and they heaved it. The others had been kind enough to stop moving while Kíli and Bombur carefully moved them above the fire and then lowered them gently. Bert yelled at them to leave the Dwarves to be cooked more thoroughly, but Thorin distracted him again by swinging at his ankle.

Fíli was straining against the thick twine, growling obscenities in Khuzdûl at the trolls and promising to make them suffer. Cutting the ropes, Kíli pulled his brother to his feet. "Feeling a little warm, big brother?" he asked, offering him an extra sword.

Fíli rolled his eyes. "Shut it," he said before taking the sword Kíli held out.

The Dwarves surged, attacking Bert who whimpered and kept saying how it was unfair for everybody to gang up on him. Kíli was confident the troll would be overpowered soon enough, but then one of the other trolls entered the clearing, and he groaned.

"Bert! Nobody's in the forest!" Tom yelled, skidding to a halt in the clearing. Dwalin drove his hammer into Tom's heel, and troll just then noticed the freed Dwarves.

"Nobody?" Bert demanded while he tried and failed to jump out of the way of Dori's sword. "Of course there ain't nobody, Tom. Don't take me for a fool-"

"_The dawn will take you all!_" Gandalf bellowed, appearing at the top of a rock. Kíli watched as the wizard brought his staff down, splitting open the boulder and allowing the sun to shine on the clearing. Both of the trolls yelped and turned away from the glaring sunlight. Kíli watched, fascinated, as they slowly transformed into statues. As one, the Dwarves let out a cheer, roaring and banging their hammers.

"Talk about an entrance," Fíli said while everybody started to sort their things properly and help each other get the rest of their armor that had been stripped on. "Right clever thing for our little burglar to do, eh?"

Kíli glanced around. "Addie should have returned by now, right?" he asked slowly as dread clutched him. There was no head of beautiful golden-brown hair wandering around and keeping out of the way of the rest of the Dwarves, no gorgeous brown eyes staring with wonder at the trolls. Adrianna was simply nowhere to be found. "So then where is she?" The Dwarves fell silent at his observation, twisting as they expected the tiny girl to jump out from behind her.

"Well, where did you leave her?" Gandalf demanded, turning to Thorin.

"She gave me the knife and then left to draw the trolls off," Thorin protested. "After that, I do not know what happened."

At Thorin's words, Kíli ran into the woods the way the trolls had left. There was still one troll unaccounted for, but he refused to let the image of Adrianna dangling while the great brute held her take over. She was too important and too kind to have that be her fate. Despite most of the Dwarves not accepting her, she had risked her life to save them.

"Look," Nori said, pointing up ahead to a very large statue with its back turned. The Dwarves and Gandalf circled it; it was William the troll, but Adrianna was nowhere to be found.

Kíli then noticed something dark on the edge of a rock, something red. "It's blood," Fíli said quietly while Kíli lightly swiped the tip of his finger against the wet substance to examine it closely. There wasn't much, but it was easy to put two and two together.

Dwalin threw his weapon to the ground in defeat while the others just stood there as the realization of what had happened became crystal clear. "We should have never have thought so little of her," he said. Ori looked close to crying, his eyes a little red as he sniffled. "I thought she would be the first to run away, but it turns out she's better than the lot of us."

Kíli just stared at the small amount of blood while Fíli put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Somebody pulled him to his feet: Thorin. Turning to the group at large, he said, "We need to get going. The troll's cave shouldn't be far from here, and there could be more unlucky souls trapped." Kíli faced him, silently asking if he could really forget Adrianna's sacrifice so easily. Thorin shook his head. "Come, Kíli," he commanded softly.

* * *

It didn't take long to find the troll's cave. It was the horrid stench that alerted them. Thorin and Gandalf entered first, followed by Bofur, Glóin, Dwalin, and several others, but Kíli elected to stay outside and watch the ponies, sitting down on a rock and staring into space.

He couldn't explain it to himself; Adrianna had just seemed so delicate, like a single wisp of wind could break her. There had been an unexplainable need to protect her, but Kíli had failed at that. At least some of the other Dwarves had finally realized that looks did not necessarily define the amount of bravery a person possessed. Thorin's words about Adrianna's lacking in skill and courage echoed in his mind, but Kíli knew that while she may have looked weak, Adrianna had nerves of steel.

"What do you suppose that troll meant when he said nobody was in the forest?" Fíli asked, sitting down next to him.

Kíli shrugged. "Could have meant anything. Maybe Addie had tricked them; wouldn't be the first time she's surprised someone – or something is more like it."

"I know Dori and the others feel bad about their misgivings," Fíli said helpfully. "And Ori and Bofur are taking it pretty hard. That little Dwarf really liked having somebody who didn't harp on him about using only a slingshot."

"At least the others don't care anymore about what race she is – was," Kíli corrected himself. "You know the main reason she came was to get back to her own family? And now they're never going to even know what happened."

Fíli shook his head, and at that precise moment the company emerged from the cave, both Gandalf and Thorin carrying new swords. Kíli also noticed that the wizard held a small knife that looked to be of Elvish make.

"You ready?" Fíli asked his younger brother.

Kíli started to respond, but somebody else yelled, "Something's coming!" He readied his bow and quickly followed the Dwarves.

**Okay, originally I was going to add Radagast to this chapter, but I had difficulty remembering this part. I'm going to see The Hobbit again with a friend soon anyway, so I thought, _What the hell?_ I might as well wait to make sure I get it right, so I know it's still a little short. (Sorry, Alexandra Camba!) Plus you'll find out what Adrianna is in the next one or two chapters :)**

**So can you please please please review? I see 200 visitors to the last chapter but less reviews, so I don't know if people like the story or not, and I really need to know what I can improve on. Even a simple good or bad job will do. (Though no flamers) PLEASE REVIEW!**

**And of course let me thank my reviewers: Akira Darkness, Alexandra Camba, elrohir lover, kilithemajestic0926, AkaMizu-chan, justiceintheworldofhp-yearight, and ZabuzasGirl. Thanks!  
**

**Alexandra Camba: I promise that the next chapter will be much longer, and much more will be revealed in Rivendell. Promise. **

**Worldnerd12**


	6. Race to Rivendell

_Previously on_ The Real World_:_

_"At least the others don't care anymore about what race she is – was," Kíli corrected himself. "You know the reason she came was to get back to her own family?"_

_Fíli shook his head, and at that precise moment the company emerged from the cave, both Gandalf and Thorin carrying new swords. Kíli also noticed that the wizard held a small knife that looked to be of Elvish make._

_"You ready?" Fíli asked his younger brother._

_Kíli started to respond, but somebody else yelled, "Something's coming!" He readied his bow and quickly followed the Dwarves._

**Chapter 6: Race to Rivendell**

Kíli burst into the clearing right next to Fíli who was staring at a very odd-looking man in brown robes that looked like they had been woven from twigs and branches. A band of rabbits were hooked up to the sled the man rode.

"Radagast!" Gandalf said, smiling at the old fellow, and Kíli realized he was in the presence of yet another wizard, Radagast the Brown, the one who Gandalf said preferred the company of animals, but he had failed to mention there was mold growing in various spots over his body, and Kíli didn't want to know just how much mold Radagast was covered with.

"Oh, dear, Gandalf! Something has happened. Something _terrible _has happened!" Radagast prattled, much like a chatty squirrel.

"Yes?" Gandalf asked slowly.

Radagast opened his mouth but froze. He then opened his mouth again but closed it just as quickly. "Oh, the thought was there, on the tip of my tongue. It's just – oh, it's not a thought of all," he said, suddenly sounding very strange. Radagast stuck out his tongue for Gandalf to delicately pull a bug out of his mouth. "Stick insect!" the brown wizard said happily.

Kíli and Fíli exchanged disgusted looks as Gandalf led the other wizard away while he blabbered about the ancient fortress of Dol Goldur.

"I'm leaving if Gandalf let coughs up a bunch of dung beetles," Fíli muttered, staring critically at the retreating backs of Gandalf and Radagast. The Grey's face grew more somber the more Radagast talked, leaving Kíli to wonder that if Gandalf didn't seem very uneasy about the dragon, what could possibly be so bad that Gandalf would rather face a dragon with only fourteen people.

_Thirteen now, _Kíli reminded himself.

Dwalin was busy talking to Thorin in low tones, so Kíli stood next to Fíli with his bow held loosely in his hand. The sun had fully risen now, but only small rays of sunlight filtered through the tree tops onto the dewy ground. It was rather pretty, but Kíli couldn't fully appreciate it, not with Adrianna gone and the two wizards whispering in the background.

"Whatever they're talking about, I don't think I want to know," Kíli told his brother just as Gandalf turned around and suspiciously said something to Radagast, to which he replied in a low voice and with a grave face. The Brown handed something over the Gandalf. Kíli and Fíli tried to crane their heads around Bombur, but they were unsuccessful; Kíli only managed to catch a glimpse of the corner of a cloth.

Kíli tightened his grip on his bow as he heard a distant growl. "That better just be a wolf," he muttered.

"That is no wolf," Bofur commented while drawing his hammer closer to his chest.

Suddenly another snarl pierced the small clearing, this one much closer and more menacing. Kíli whipped his head around to see a Warg bound down the small slope and leap over him in an effort to reach one of the other Dwarves. Dwalin, Bofur, and Thorin immediately jumped into action, hacking at the foul creature. Spotting another one hiding behind the trees and eyeing his uncle, Kíli swiftly drew the bowstring back and fired right before the Warg reached Thorin; it fell and skidded to a stop right in front of Kíli.

"A scout," his uncle hissed, "Which means an Orc pack is not far behind."

Gandalf was back now, standing right beside Fíli. "Who did you tell about your quest beyond your kin," he demanded.

Thorin was quick to reply. "No one."

"_Who did you tell_?" the wizard yelled, not satisfied with the answer.

"No one! I swear!" Thorin countered in his defense. He glanced around before asking Gandalf, "What in Durin's name is going on?"

"You are being hunted."

* * *

A clattering of hooves, a rich horn blowing, soft footsteps pattering against the ground…

Every part of her ached while her head felt like it was splitting open, as if somebody had taken a sledgehammer to it with the sole purpose of cracking her skull. The ankle burned with an excruciating pain, and Adrianna almost blacked out again. She was vaguely aware of the stinging on her hands, face, and legs.

There was movement around her, Adrianna could feel it. She tried to open her eyes, but it was too hard; she had been completely drained almost like somebody had sucked all of her will and energy from her broken body into a small bottle, trapping it inside, so she simply allowed herself to relax as best she could and listen to the sounds around her, all the while keeping the hovering darkness at bay.

A rich, soothing voice spoke in the strange language she had heard just before she blacked out, and Adrianna could just barely make out what they were saying: "_Dôra i hên ned Estë nedh adab ned nestadren. Elrond nestaitha an Estelien ir te carn._" She was suddenly lifted from her previous position before somebody reached under her legs and shoulders, cradling her.

Adrianna lay motionless in the stranger's arms, still only half-way conscious. A comforting feeling of safety surrounded her, and she knew that whoever these people were, they would keep her safe from harm. There was no fighting the darkness anymore, so once again Adrianna slipped back into unconsciousness.

* * *

_Nutter_, Kíli thought as he watched Radagast jump onto his sleigh pulled by 'Rhosgobel Rabbits' as he called them. He couldn't believe anybody would be so brave and so _stupid_ as to think they could outrun the Wargs with some bunnies, but the brown wizard seemed determined, and Kíli knew he was not an ordinary man.

"Get ready," Thorin warned quietly as Gandalf peered around a rock of the far-reaching plain dotted with stones which be the only things providing any cover. He could hear Radagast yelling something in the distance while the howls of many Wargs echoed through the open air.

"Come on," Gandalf ordered, ushering the Dwarves forward one after the other, Fíli right in front of Kíli. They ran fast. After all, Dwarves were natural sprinters, and the threat of the Orc pack only helped. Kíli could hear Radagast taunting the Orcs, his voice growing fainter and fainter, but Kíli could only focus on the path in front of him.

Thorin led them across the fields while the sounds of Orcs and Wargs spurred them on. So far they had escaped attention, and Kíli could see Radagast's sleigh continue to draw them away. They rounded a boulder, but in front of him Thorin stopped suddenly. Ori nearly blew right past him, but the King under the Mountain grabbed his shirt with a shout of, "Ori, no!" The Orc pack was no longer behind them but in the way of their destination (if they did have a destination,) and the Dwarves all pressed themselves against the rock. Kíli held his bow in his hand, heart hammering. Had the Orcs not noticed them yet?

The answer was no.

Growling, much closer, came from right above them, and Kíli knew one of the Orcs was standing on the rock they had been hiding behind. Thorin nodded in his direction, and Kíli drew an arrow. Breathing deeply, he bolted out from safety and shot the Orc. It wasn't the best shot Kíli could do, and for one terrifying moment the Orc lifted a horn to its lips, and Kíli released another arrow. The Warg and Orc tumbled down in front of them, still alive, but Dwalin and Bifur fell upon it, hacking and smashing while the Warg roared in defiance.

"Quickly!" Gandalf yelled, and Kíli noticed there were no more growls, but it wasn't because they were gone.

Thorin shoved Fíli and Kíli in front of him, and Gandalf led them across the plains while perhaps a dozen or so Wargs pursued them. Radagast was nowhere to be found, and Kíli's heart sank when he realized they had lost what little hope they had left. The pack had circled around them now, slowly inching closer and closer, but there were more now. Perhaps a dozen or so Wargs were bounding towards them across the expanse of the land.

"There's more coming!" he yelled, readying another arrow. They were surrounded now with no way out. The Dwarf Prince let loose an arrow right into the chest of a very fat Orc.

"Where is Gandalf?" Dori yelled. Indeed, the grey wizard was nowhere to be found. First Adrianna, now Gandalf? The members were disappearing like flies.

"He's abandoned us," Dwalin growled while Kíli shot another Orc, this one smack in the nose, and he gave a little cheer at that despite the circumstances. All around him the Dwarves were readying themselves for the last stand, either holding massive hammers or swords and growling as much as the Wargs.

"This way you fools!" a voice suddenly shouted. Gandalf had appeared from the rock, waving his staff at them. One by one the Dwarves slid into the little hole, but Kíli kept shooting.

"Kíli!" Thorin yelled, and Kíli glanced back to see that most of the Dwarves had vanished into the rock. The closest Warg snarled at him, and Kíli ran. He jumped into the hole without hesitation and Thorin followed him. Fíli quickly pulled him to his feet, and they looked up at the little gap.

Suddenly a horn, not an Orc, blasted, and there were shouts and screams above. Fíli exchanged a confused glance with his brother at the sudden turn of events before one of the Orcs tumbled into the hole. Kíli jumped, ready to attack, but the Orc was already dead with a broken arrow through its neck. Thorin yanked it out with an odd squelching sound.

"Elves," he spat, and Kíli felt a surge of dislike. Elves who had abandoned Erebor in a desperate time of need, who had looked upon their people's suffering and did nothing, and they were here, but he knew that his feelings were nothing compared to Thorin's. He at least didn't have to live through that, but all the same, Kíli gritted his teeth.

"There's a tunnel," Dwalin shouted. "Do we follow it?"

"Follow it of course!" Bofur said, and Kíli gladly followed.

* * *

Adrianna's eyes flickered from the soft yellow light filtering down to where she lay, but she kept them closed. Nothing hurt anymore, but there was still that draining sensation. She was lying on an incredibly soft bed with a silken gown encasing her body, the covers pulled up to her chest. The pillows nestled behind her head were the most wonderful things she had ever felt.

"… _glîr dad lín melui a caeleb dôl. Tinnu thinnai. Ci toll an meth ned lend …_"

The beautiful melody flowed through the air. She could hear the woman's voice, unwavering and graceful, singing, weaving it into a masterpiece. The words seeped through Adrianna like water running through a pile of pearls, healing and soothing her body, and Adrianna sank further into the bed. The singing woman was moving, floating from one side of Adrianna to the other judging from the unbalance of sound.

Curious, Adrianna slowly opened her eyes only to find herself in the most exquisite room she had only seen once: Rivendell. The Last Homely House. Adrianna found the singing Elf, and she made Adrianna suddenly very self-conscious. Pointed ears and high cheekbones, she was every bit the stunning Elf Adrianna had seen in the movies. With long blond hair cascading down her shoulders and back in a waterfall of lovely tresses, she was more beautiful than anybody back on Earth.

The Elf smiled when she noticed Adrianna awake. "_Estelien_," she said in a lilting voice, her olive green eyes shining the sunlight. "My Lady will be most pleased that you are awake. Our medicine works wonders, but you are still not fully healed. There is an elusive sickness that we cannot quite rid your body of, but Lord Elrond will heal you fully when he is back. You may call me Nethril by the way, Nethril of Lothlórien."

Adrianna looked around. She wanted to say something brilliant, a super-smart comment that might belong in Rivendell and with the Elves, but she only said awkwardly, "What were you singing about?" She shut her mouth, realizing how rude that must sound, not even saying thank you, but Nethril took no offence.

"It is a song we sing, a song of the end of the time of the Elves, when we will sail to the Blessed Realm where we will wait. Soon I will join my kin on the ships to leave Middle-Earth, as will you."

"Me?"Adrianna asked, quite shocked. "Why me?"

Nethril smiled gently. "It is not my place to say, Estelien. My Lady will seek you out after you are fully healed, but you must rest now, for you still need to regain your energy. Now sleep," she said, and as she resumed her song, Adrianna hadn't realized just how tired she was. Before long, she slipped back into her peaceful slumber.

* * *

"Where do you suppose this leads?" Fíli whispered in Kíli's ear. They were slowly making their way through the narrow fissure single-file since that was the only way they would fit. Kíli doubted that anybody would ever think of using this as an actual path, more like a smuggler's route.

"Misty Mountains?" Kíli said, shrugging helplessly. "I'm not sure if it is supposed to lead anywhere."

Suddenly the crevice opened up, and Kíli found himself standing on the side of a mountain, looking down into a valley that could have been from a fairy tale except for the deep feeling of suspicion tingling in him, but nonetheless, he couldn't deny the beauty of it. Beside him Ori stared with his mouth wide open in wonder.

"The Valley of Imladris, the Last Homely House. In the Common Tongue it is known by another name," Gandalf announced, and Kíli looked at him confused, though he had a sneaking suspicion he would know the name in Westron. "Rivendell, the house of Elrond."

Thorin rounded on Gandalf angrily, but Kíli was too far away to hear the words. Part of him knew that he shouldn't go any nearer. Elves couldn't be trusted, simple as that, but the other part of him was captivated by the splendor the Elves had carved into the forest. It was if it was built as part of the mountain, existing as one with flawless design.

"… which is why you will leave the talking to me," Gandalf said, striding past them.

* * *

_CRASH!_

_I whipped around. One second there was silence; Quinn was safely tucked in her bed with Sophie the Dinosaur, but the next second it was complete and utter chaos. I could barely make sense of the world as one of Frax's bodyguards ripped the door off the hinges, towering in the middle of the quaint, little sitting room .Two more men in black stormed in, guns out and aiming – right at me._

_No, no, no! This wasn't happening! It _couldn't _be happening!_

_They weren't here anymore. They left, left and took the money with them, but that hardly mattered. Fear bubbled in my stomach like acid, paralyzing me before I spotted one of Quinn's dolls pushed into the corner, and I screamed, "QUINN! HIDE!" before one of the bodyguards slapped a hand over my entire face, muffling my shouts. Arms seized me around the middle and bodily threw me. I hit the wall and slid to the ground, stunned._

"_Hold her," a harsh voice commanded, and my blood froze in my veins, turning to an ice as cold as the person to whom the harsh voice belonged. Frax stepped into view, casually twirling a serrated knife in his hand. "Where is it, Addie? Hmm? Where'd your parents stash it?" he asked._

_Tears were running down my cheeks, and I just wanted to curl into a small ball and hide. The terror blazed like a wildfire, and my entire body trembled. "They left. They left and took it with them. Please, just let my family go," I pleaded desperately, collapsing. Now it was only the bodyguard who held me up. "Just let us go…"_

_Frax leaned down next to me with a smile that didn't reach his black eyes. "When I get the drive, you can go. But until then," he grabbed my hair and pulled my face closer to his, "You're mine," he snarled viciously._

"_Are dey here to play wid me, Didi?" a voice suddenly asked, a voice I would have known anywhere in the world. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping it was just a hallucination, but it was real. Standing in the hallway, clutching a stuffed dinosaur and wearing a little yellow nightgown with a picture of Snow White stood Quinn, her brown eyes wide. Oh, my little angel; she had no idea what was going on._

_My sweet, sweet angel._

_I realized how it must have looked to her: a couple of grown-ups fooling around with some toys. There was no way my precious sister could have known just how much danger we were in. I felt the hot tears stream down my cheeks as Frax stood up. "Hello, little girl. What's you're name?" he asked kindly, and rage flooded my vision, temporarily blinding me. _

_Quinn stared at him. "'Winn. I'm three," she said, holding up three stubby fingers."Are you her to play wid me?"_

_Frax stepped towards Quinn. _

"_No…" I whispered, but Quinn couldn't hear me. She just stood there, the adorable, innocent little thing she was, waiting for Frax to say something._

_Frax looked back at me, smiled coldly, and turned back to Quinn. "You know, I think Mummy wouldn't really like that. You see, Quinn, Mummy's a little busy. She needs to give me some things, but if she doesn't, then I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to play, okay?" The urge to strangle him dominated my mind, washing away any other thoughts, and I flexed my fingers, imagining wrapping them around the bastard's neck. "Okay, Mummy?" he smirked at me._

_I took a deep breath. "Go back to bed, Quinn. I'll be there shortly," I said, trying to keep my voice as steady as possible. We all stayed where we were, immobile, while Quinn tottered back to her bedroom, and I let loose a small sigh of relief, closing my eyes._

_Suddenly there was a stomping sound, and my arm snapped in half, crushed from the steel-toed boot. Frax had brought his foot down on my arm, hard. I bit my lip to keep from screaming, but that didn't stop the agony._

"_Let me be very clear, Adrianna Roscioli," Frax whispered in my ear. "As long as I cannot find your parents, you are accountable for the stolen goods. It is not my problem if they left you to deal with the mess. If you do not return the flash drive by the end of the month, I will find sweet little Quinn," I shivered as his hot breath brushed my skin. "And I will kill her."_

_The bodyguard dropped me, and I stared after them as they started to leave. "I wouldn't," I said suddenly, a fury taking hold of me, a fury fueled by the threat to Quinn, my only family, the one person I couldn't live without._

"_Sorry?" Frax asked._

"_You can do whatever you want to me, Frax, but if you lay a hand on Quinn, you will regret it." The words spilled from my mouth without any resistance, but all the same, it wasn't me. It was like somebody else had taken control of my mouth, threatening Frax, somebody much, much braver than I was._

_The monster smiled. "I hope that's a promise, _Didi_."_

Adrianna woke with a start, sweat beading her brow. Somebody was wiping it with a cool cloth, and she turned to see Nethril with a small basin of clear water by her side.

"What happened?" she croaked. The dream seemed so real, so vivid, almost like she was reliving it, that night she had realized just how cruel the world was. She glanced at her arm, expecting it to be broken, but it wasn't. She lifted her head up a little more, but a sudden wave of vertigo overcame her, and Adrianna collapsed back onto the bed, exhausted.

"You are ill, Estelien, I do not know why, but Lord Elrond will be able to help you when he returns," Nethril said soothingly. "I'm assuming bad dream."

Adrianna just nodded, staring at the sunset, the echo of Frax's last threat ringing in her ears. _He is gone_, she reminded herself, _and you made sure he could never hurt Quinn again._ But that still didn't stop the horror of the memory.

* * *

Kíli stood in the middle of the Elven realm, surrounded by the rest of the Dwarves, hand resting on his sword. The Elves stared at them but did nothing else except watch them. Soon the reached a small circle of stone, the entrance flanked by two statues with two more real guards at the other side.

"Mithrandir," an Elf announced, walking down the steps. Gandalf gave a small bow, and the Elf responded with his own gesture. Thorin muttered something to Dwalin, and the other Dwarves bristled. Kíli's eyes darted back and forth between the two guards, and Fíli held one of his hunting knives ready in his hand.

"Ah, Lindir," the wizard responded. "I seek council with Lord Elrond."

"My Lord Elrond is not here," Lindir said, but at that moment the same horn the Dwarves had heard in the plains sounded, and Kíli turned to see a small group of horses approaching, and they didn't slow down.

The Dwarves were suddenly yelling at one another and forming a tight formation in the center of the platform. Kíli was pushed to the middle, as was Ori, and they all raised their weapons in warning. The clattering of hooves shook the ground, but Kíli and the Dwarves held their ground. The Elves did nothing, but continued to circle them until at least a dozen warriors all glared at them.

Seeing the Elves for the first time, Kíli could see how many people had mistaken Adrianna for an Elf. Same ears, even if Adrianna's hair usually covered them up, same flawless skin, but at the same time, she was so different from these Elves. There was no warmth on their faces, not to mention they were twice as tall. No, Adrianna couldn't ever have lived among these people.

"Gandalf!" cried one Elf in greeting. This one dressed in finer armor with no helm, instead a thin circlet sat upon his brow.

"Lord Elrond," Gandalf said, bowing.

Elrond swung his leg over his majestic horse and swept pass the Dwarves, giving his gloves to Lindir. "I wondered when you would come. Your companion has already been here for a day, and I never really thought you would think to leave her behind." At Elrond's words, Kíli felt a flicker of hope, and the other Dwarves whispered to each other and looked on with renewed interest.

Gandalf raised his thick eyebrows, and Thorin demanded, "Where is she?" Kíli leaned forward, joy blossoming in his chest. Adrianna was alive! Around him the other Dwarves cheered and shook their weapons, but Kíli intently listened to Elrond's response.

Elrond turned and assessed Thorin. "Welcome Thorin, son of Thráin. Adrianna is resting right now; she will come down when she is ready, but don't fret. I will be attending to her shortly. Lindir, you can lead the Dwarves from here."

* * *

This time when Adrianna woke, she felt so much different. Her skin was fresh and clean, soft as the silk in which she lay, and her hair was splayed out around her head like a halo, the sun catching the auburn, and it blazed almost a deep gold in the light. But that wasn't what Adrianna noticed. The heaviness had lifted from her, the crushing weight finally gone with nothing more to show of it.

For the first time since the incident in the Trollshaws, Adrianna sat up with hardly any difficulty. She held one hand out in front of her and marveled at the sight of it. There wasn't a mark save the small scar between her index finger and thumb from when she had cut her hand preparing onions for dinner one night. It emitted the faintest light, and Adrianna brought her hand to her face, marveling at the skin that had long been hidden from the dirt and grime from the journey. She ran her hand through her tresses, and they slid smoothly through her fingers like a waterfall.

"Estelien," Nethril said from the doorway. Two other Elf-maidens flanked her, one holding a sheer cloth and the other white slippers. "My Lady requests your presence, but you must first be dressed."

Adrianna tried and failed to not feel slightly embarrassed as the Elves clothed her, wrapping her in a lovely lavender sheath that clung to her fragile body yet somehow remained modest. She knew the clothing wasn't too fancy in Sindarin culture, but it was still very different from the pants and shirts she was accustomed to. One of the Elf-maidens quickly pulled her hair back and setting a small silver headdress upon it, one that could have only been made for a person Adrianna's size.

It was lovely, but now Adrianna was fully aware of her surroundings, the nagging feeling in the back of her head returned. "Where are my friends? The thirteen Dwarves and Gandalf, they were with me," she said rapidly.

"They are here, currently being served dinner, though I do not agree with their manners," Nethril said, wrinkling her nose at the memory. Adrianna could have laughed. Kíli and the rest were safe for now, close, and Adrianna could hope for no more than that. "You can see them after my Lady has met with you. This way," Nethril said as the other Elves melted into the background quickly and quietly.

Adrianna started to follow her but stopped when she caught a reflection in the mirror – _her _reflection. Adrianna was no longer the girl who had sat with Greta in the diner far away in London, nor the girl who tricked Frax and escaped the countryside to her uncle. That girl wasn't the woman in the mirror, a woman with pale, glowing skin except for the scar running right below her hairline from where she had hit her head. The woman in the mirror was a hundred more times the girl from London, and Adrianna couldn't believe she was looking at herself.

What happened to the girl with paint splattered on her school uniform, the girl who was frightened of everything, the girl who ran from confrontation? It was impossible that she had changed so much in such a short period of time, but here she was.

Nethril appeared in the mirror next to her. "It was all hiding, Estelien, and the closer you come to the truth, the more will be revealed, now come. My Lady is waiting."

Adrianna hurried after her, still stunned.

**A couple of translations for you lovely readers:**

**Dôra i hên ned Estë nedh adab ned nestadren. Elrond nestaitha an Estelien ir te carn_: _Take the child of Estë to the house of healing. Elrond will attend to Estelien when he is done.**

**The song Nethril was singing was _Into the West_ from RotK translated into Sindarin. I'm sorry if my Sindarin is a wee bit rusty. I could only translate from the internet with very few grammar rules to follow, so I bet it is like saying 'Me no wants no 'NMacCheese because Worldnerd12 no like this.' Oh, and all the names are Sindarin as well. I wanted them to mean something. Estelien means daughter of hope, and Nethril means healer. That took up several hours on Saturday, but I'm very proud of having Sindarin in this story. It was worth the wait for learning how to speak Sindarin. (At least I think it's Sindarin. Might be Quenyan.)**

**And I know the Orc pack scene is a LOT like the movie, but since Adrianna wasn't there, I didn't have much to work with, but other things will be different. Tell me what you thought!**

**Sorry for the long wait. I kept rewriting this chapter because I could never get the pacing to seem just right, but finally I present this chapter. And yes, when Nethril says 'My Lady' she means Lady Galadriel. (I know, shocker.) I hope this is enough to make up for the wait. Pretty please review!**

**Thanks to xxlokixxGJ, , killer4853, HavenMary, Gladoo89, Akira Darkness, Elva, Latina44870, brunette-lady23, SummerAngelz, Alexandra Camba, Emily, 3insteinComplex, Child of the Gypsies, jambi, LiliAnn Jackson, ZabuzasGirl, and all the anonymous reviewers. 17 reviews? You guys just make my day!**

**Worldnerd12**


	7. The Lady of Light

_Previously on _The Real World_:_

_Adrianna started to follow her but stopped when she caught a reflection in the mirror – her reflection. Adrianna was no longer the girl who had sat with Greta in the diner far away in London, nor the girl who tricked Frax and escaped the countryside to her uncle. That girl wasn't the woman in the mirror, a woman with pale, glowing skin except for the scar running right below her hairline from where she had hit her head. The woman in the mirror was a hundred more times the girl from London, and Adrianna couldn't believe she was looking at herself._

_What happened to the girl with paint splattered on her school uniform, the girl who was frightened of everything, the girl who ran from confrontation? It was impossible that she had changed so much in such a short period of time, but here she was._

_Nethril appeared in the mirror next to her. "It was all hiding, Estelien, and the closer you come to the truth, the more will be revealed, now come. My Lady is waiting."_

_Adrianna hurried after her, still stunned._

**Chapter 7: The Lady of Light**

Nethril led Adrianna to an open pavilion overlooking the colorful landscape. The light breeze tickled her face and teased her hair; her dress flapping slightly around her ankles, but she remained warm in spite of the elements. Nethril stopped and looked at her. "Lady Galadriel is waiting. This is where I leave you," she said, bowing her head gently and gliding away.

Adrianna twisted her hands nervously in front of her, the habit that she could never seem to break. Lady Galadriel, _the _Lady Galadriel, was waiting for her, an ordinary girl from London with a sketchy past and a lack of daring her companions possessed in great quantities. What made her so interesting besides the fact she was the only being in Middle-Earth who had no clue how to wield a sword or shoot an arrow?

"Welcome, Estelien." The words floated through the air, the voice rich and powerful yet kind at the same time. Adrianna realized with a jolt that this was the same voice she had heard when she first arrived here, half-dead and confused. "The Valar have blessed you."

Adrianna turned to the speaker, and she caught her breath. Lady Galadriel stood tall and proud in the center of the platform. Her beauty and elegance intimidated Adrianna, with her ice blue eyes piercing her, reading Adrianna's deepest thoughts, eyes so old they must have seen thousands of winters. The sunlight paled in comparison to Galadriel's hair, and for a moment, Adrianna couldn't speak.

She finally remembered her manners and sank into a clumsy curtsey. "Lady Galadriel," she murmured, "It's an honor." She stayed low to the ground with her eyes cast down.

Galadriel smiled and raised Adrianna's chin. "You have no need to treat me as such, Estelien. I am your equal, not your queen. Walk with me," she said, graciously stepping aside for Adrianna to go first. "There is much to talk about."

"Why do you call me that?" Adrianna asked. "Estelien?"

"Because Adrianna is your name from your adopted world, not here. It is a name from the race of Men, and you are of a very different race, but if you prefer Adrianna, you will receive no argument from me or any other Elf."

Adrianna nodded mutely, pondering Galadriel's words. Of course she was a woman. There were no Dwarves or Elves back in London, so what else would she be? "When you say different, what do you mean?" she asked, subconsciously touching her small nose as if to reassure herself it was still there. "I was born into a human family."

Galadriel led her past several rooms where she could see other Elves tending to various duties, though they all stopped and inclined their heads when she and Galadriel passed. "How much do you remember of your world, Adrianna? Tell me about your past life."

Adrianna closed her eyes. Ever since she had arrived, her memories were slipping away, but she was determined. "I was born on March 21st, 1993 to Francesca Roscioli and David Walton. I lived near Kirkwall in Scotland, and I have a younger sister named Quinn. My parents abandoned us, so Quinn and I moved to London to live in my uncle's house. How can I not be human?" Adrianna lifted her head up, tears threatening to fall. Had she been living a lie for the first twenty years of her life?

"Because your mother was not," Galadriel said. "Are you aware of the story behind the Egladhrim, the Forsaken Ones?"

Adrianna shook her head.

"As the peoples of Middle-Earth clashed amongst each other, Estë, one of the Valinor, couldn't bear to sit by and do nothing, so with the permission of Manwë, she created the Egladhrim, a race of mortal Elves formed for the sole purpose of peace. She could not bear the thought of all the races hating each other, and she hoped that maybe one day the Egladhrim would slowly mend the rivalry between the Eldar and the Dwarves.

"For the Dwarves and Men to see the Egladhrim as separate from the Eldar, Estë fashioned them to be as least threatening as possible, with tiny figures, almost like children, and a passive nature, though they were as capable with warfare as any other Elf if need be. Slowly the Dwarves and Men grew to accept the Egladhrim because they could see no harm in befriending them.

"They were a nonviolent race, never marching to the great battles or performing renowned heroic deeds. The Egladhrim held no prejudice against the Dwarves or Men, so most merely existed to help all races. Small differences though they made, they loved their way of life and never took part in the major events of our time, content to simply aid the free peoples with medicine or shelter.

"Unfortunately Sauron used their love and unwillingness to fight to his advantage, nearly wiping them out, and to protect her children, Estë sent them away to finish their task in a world that needed them just as much. She revealed their original bodies if one found their way back home, and for thousands of years, the Egladhrim helped Men in your world, eventually forgetting about their own history and assimilating to the culture whilst they faded into myth here, hence the name of the Forsaken Ones."

Adrianna listened carefully, still not fully believing that she was an Elf. "And am I one of the? The Egladhrim?"

"Yes. You could never fulfill your life back in your adopted world, so Estë must have sent you back home for a second chance."

She bowed her head at those words. "Am I dead?" Adrianna asked in a soft, resigned voice. She had known the chances were not great, but there always remained that flicker of hope that maybe one day she would go back and see her sister once again.

Galadriel only smiled sadly at her. "Not quite, but you are very close. Death follows you like a shadow, there yet not at the same time. It is a gateway, Adrianna, and soon you will have to choose between the two worlds."

There was a moment of silence before, "If I really am a coward then why am I still on the journey?"

"I said your race was reluctant to shed blood; I never said they weren't brave," Galadriel reminded her, "You could provide a balance and a chance at diplomacy, though the will of the Valar can never be predicted."

Adrianna tapped her fingers against her thigh, another question nagging at the back of her head. "If my mother was an Egladhrim," she began slowly, "Then why did she desert us? According to you, we prefer peace and love, but she got caught up in the wrong circles with Dad anyways, and trust me, _that _life was far from peaceful."

She received no answer from Galadriel but a hand on her cheek, lifting her face up. "Sometimes we must choose between what is right and what is easy, Adrianna. The time may come when you will be faced with the same choice as your mother: follow your heart or follow your head. They are two very different things, and your mother had her reasons just as we all do, even you could not know of them at the time."

Adrianna bit her lip and turned away to conceal the tears starting to form in her chocolate eyes. It wasn't that she didn't understand that Francesca Roscioli had her reason; it was that she did. Her anger at the sudden departure had driven her to condemn her parents forever in her heart. Deep down Adrianna knew why she never dragged it from the back of her mind to reason with herself. She had been furious at her mother for leaving them, for never giving an explanation for vanishing without so much as a trace, so Adrianna had never bothered to defend her mother, her rage clouding her judgment – no, not clouding her judgment. It was just the rage.

The tears weren't from sadness. They were from shame.

Galadriel bent down and looked Adrianna straight in the eye. "She will always know that you loved her, Adrianna, despite what may have happened in the past."

Adrianna just nodded and tried to wipe the tears from her eyes without anybody noticing. "Do you think so?" she asked in a trembling voice.

Galadriel smiled. "It is impossible for love that runs so deep in your blood to be forgotten by mere words, Adrianna. Now I believe this is where I leave you for I think we have kept you from your companions long enough, and they have been worrying about you. Time to set their minds at ease," Galadriel said.

Adrianna realized that they were not far away from where the thirteen Dwarves and Gandalf sat, eating Elf food. None of them had seen her yet as they were too busy talking and chatting happily. She suddenly felt like an intruder. Who was she kidding? Adrianna was only dragging on them if the incident in the Trollshaws was any indicator. She was knocked out and would have been killed if not for the Elves while the rest of the Dwarves fought without needing protection from the rest.

"Addie!" Bofur yelled when he spotted her, waving at her to come join the rest of the Dwarves, and Adrianna smiled while hiding the fear stirring in her chest, the fear of what might happen should any of the Dwarves find out they had been traveling with a cowardly Elf. She caught Kíli's eye, who had been gawking at her with nothing short of astonishment, and her promise to tell Kíli what she found out about her past ran through her mind.

"Wait," Adrianna said, turning back around, and Galadriel stopped. "What about my sister, Quinn? If I'm really here, then … it's just, do you know if I'll ever see her again?" She felt her voice catch in her throat; she wasn't sure she could live with the knowledge that she would never see her little angel again.

There was only sadness in Galadriel's age-old eyes. She cupped Adrianna's chin and said gently, "She lives in a world many, many leagues away, Adrianna, with no reason to leave." Adrianna ducked her head, sure she would burst out sobbing, but Galadriel was not finished. "But remember that nothing is set in stone," and then she lightly kissed the top of her head.

* * *

There was no meat.

Kíli dug through the bowls of leafy greens and nuts, searching for something much more substantial, but the Elves seemed determined to starve them all the while wearing smiles and playing some instruments. Beside him Fíli was just as irritated as his younger brother, but he managed to do a better job at hiding his annoyance; of course he would. Fíli was the heir to the line of Durin and thus spent more time as a youngster learning the ways to be a good leader while Kíli was always planning their next adventure in the woods.

"Where is Addie?" he asked quietly while they waited for Thorin and Gandalf to join them.

Fíli shrugged. "Elrond did say that she would come down when she was ready. Maybe she's already on her way or," Fíli dramatically lowered his voice and several other Dwarves leaned in closer so they could hear better, "Maybe the Elves are busy brainwashing her. She does look like one of them after all."

Kíli smacked his shoulder. "Oh, shut it."

At that moment Thorin and Gandalf entered, following Elrond who had changed into much more suitable robes. The wizard and he Elf were chatting merrily while Thorin sulked, obviously not happy to be surrounded by Elves. Kíli strained his head, hoping that maybe Adrianna was following them, but no such luck.

Fíli nudged his shoulder. "Oi, stop looking like such a lovesick puppy. She'll be here soon enough."

"Lovesick puppy?" he asked incredulously.

Fíli just grinned. "Addie may have missed those looks you've been sending our burglar when her back is turned, but the rest of us haven't," he teased, and Nori, who was sitting on Fíli's other side, snorted.

Kíli felt his face growing warm. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Ha!" Bofur laughed. "Looks like the lad is falling for the little lady." Soon the other Dwarves were laughing silently, and if Kíli wasn't embarrassed before, no doubt his face was burning now; he threw a carrot at Bofur in retaliation. Only Thorin, Balin, and Gandalf were too preoccupied to notice, not that any of them would come to rescue if they _had _noticed.

"Look, Addie's here," Bofur suddenly pointed out, and Kíli glared at him.

"Funny."

"No, I'm serious. Addie!" he yelled, waving his hand to somebody behind him.

Kíli turned around, and when he saw Adrianna, his jaw dropped to the floor. Throughout the entire journey, they had all been accumulated dirt and grime, Adrianna included, but Kíli hadn't noticed just how much of her loveliness she been hiding. Now she was fresh and clean, practically glowing with health and wearing a lilac gown that clung to her delicate frame. Adrianna had been wearing mainly men's clothing since the first time Kíli met her for the sake of mobility, but now that the Elves had revealed her much more feminine body and curves which had previously been hidden, she was wreathed with an ethereal beauty that both stunned and intimidated him at the same time.

Adrianna turned back to a tall Elf whom she had been talking to, asking something Kíli couldn't hear. The Elf replied, and Adrianna bowed her head, but the Elf cupped her chin and whispered something else before pressing her lips against Adrianna's hair. She took a moment to compose herself before gliding towards the table where Kíli and the rest of the Dwarves sat.

"Hello," Adrianna said timidly. All of the Dwarves stared at her in silence until Glóin finally broke the silence.

"We thought you were dead, lassie!" he said loudly while the other dwarves shouted in welcome. Nori clapped her bare shoulder and guided her to the empty seat right next to Kíli. She gave him a tentative smile, and Fíli elbowed Kíli in the side, snapping him out of his trance. "How'd you get away from the trolls?"

Adrianna giggled nervously. "It's a bit of a long story actually, and I was out cold for part of it." Kíli then noticed a clean but still fresh gash right below her hairline, and he shuddered, remembering the blood on the rock. That must have been what she was talking about.

"Good thing we have a long wait, eh?" Dwalin said. "Go on, lassie! Tell us."

She tucked a lock of golden-brown hair that shone brightly in the setting sun before saying, "Back home I have a friend – Greta is her name – and she's much more out there than I am, so after you guys left, I realized she probably would have smacked me if she saw me sitting out, so I followed you guys…"

* * *

Adrianna was careful to keep Kíli in the corner of her eye for the entire time, her gaze flicking towards him more often than not. It had been so weird for the Dwarves to pay that much attention to her; it was only Ori, Kíli, and Bofur who had ever held a proper conversation with her, but now the rest were treating her like another member of the company, not some easily shattered porcelain doll. It was if she actually belonged in this cheery little band of travelers. She was no longer an outsider.

Eventually with the conclusion of the story and the feast, the Dwarves slowly dispersed in various directions – mainly the sleeping quarters. Adrianna tried not to feel too pleased when the Dwarves had been very impressed with her craftiness, but it was a point of pride that she had come up with the 'Nobody, Somebody, Anybody, Everybody' conversation on the spot. Of course that had been interrupted with her falling from the tree like the clumsy idiot she was.

Even Thorin was beginning to accept her, but that didn't stop the fact that she couldn't wield a weapon, something Kíli pointed out as they walked together from the supper the Elves had supplied them. Adrianna supposed the Nethril was waiting back at her room; at least she could have this one night away from the Dwarves' snores.

Adrianna stood a ways from the rest of the Dwarves. They would be sharing a small area, but she had not hesitated in choosing to have some privacy for once, the chance to take a bath without worrying about one of them approaching at the exact wrong moment. The Dwarves thankfully understood immediately.

She watched the sun sink lower and lower in the horizon. With a jolt Adrianna realized that she was no longer looking at the same sunset Quinn and Greta were watching, nor would she ever watch the same sunset again. The thought only made her heart ache more. Almost subconsciously she withdrew the now worn and crumpled picture of Quinn and her. Most of the colors had faded save for Quinn's proud smile. She stared at it, Galadriel's words echoing in her ears, and Adrianna struggled to catch her breath.

"Who is that?" a voice asked quietly. She jumped and whipped around, but it was only Kíli. It was odd to see him without so much of his armor and weapons, but it was a nice change. "Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

"No, it's not that. I was just thinking about home. I never had a chance to say good-bye to Quinn, and now I probably never will."

"Your sister?"

Adrianna nodded. "She turns six next month, and I won't be there to wish her happy birthday. She's never been away from me this long, and I'm always worrying that with Frederick's job, she'll be turned over to the government. What if he can't take care of her or if Greta hasn't told her yet …" Without meaning to, tears were falling and her chin trembling. "It's just that I love her more than anything, and-"

Kíli suddenly pulled her into a hug, and Adrianna clung to him as if her life depended on it, inhaling his lovely woodsy scent. It did nothing to ease the pain that left a gaping hole in her heart, but she felt safer, like one touch from Kíli would wipe all the worry of the world away. Adrianna buried her face deeper into his shirt.

"If your friend is anything like you've said, she would never let Quinn be turned over to somebody else's care," Kíli said comfortingly while leading her to a bench farther away to sit down. "Maybe your parents will see the error in their ways."

Adrianna sucked in a breath and wiped away a stray tear. She looked Kíli in eye and asked, "Do you think people deserve forgiveness?"

He pulled away slightly, not expecting the conversation to go in that direction. "Yes," he said slowly. "Why?"

She gave an uneasy giggle. "My mother. The reason why I blamed her was because I was angry, angry that she had left us. I made sure neither she nor my father ever saw Quinn again, but I never stopped to consider the reasons why they left. What if they left because my mum thought we were safer? What if that was the reason, but I never gave her a chance to explain herself?"

Kíli took her hand and looked her squarely in the eye. "I think," he began, "That we all make mistakes and that our loved ones would not have us any other way."

Adrianna stared at the hand, a flutter of warmth spreading over her from the gentle touch. It would be okay; it would all be okay as long as she had somebody to lean on. Her gaze flickered up to Kíli's, and she noticed at that precise moment that his eyes were a green so dark they were almost black but still remained tender and kind.

"Would somebody still deserve forgiveness if they killed somebody," she said from out of the blue. After all it was a night of confessions, dragging up her deepest, darkest secrets, secrets about things she had done which were dreadful – appalling to any sane person.

Kíli bit his lip. "We've all killed somebody, Addie-"

"It wasn't an Orc or a goblin, Kíli. I killed a person to protect Quinn, but it still happened, Kíli, and I've always pushed it to the back of my mind, but that doesn't mean that it never happened. I didn't mean to, but I did. It was him or Quinn …"

_I stared out the window, the sun long since gone. My baby sister slept peacefully, her mind at ease and dreaming about the time she would meet Snow White and join in her adventures, but not me. The levers and gears in my head where whirring faster than ever before while I experimentally moved my arm which had only been broken several months before._

_It was irrational and stupid, but I wanted to make Frax pay. I wanted to hurt him for threatening Quinn, and I knew I would enjoy it, watching him scream on the floor. He was the predator, and I was the prey. We would continue our deadly dance until he had found my weak spot, and then he would strike, hard and fast._

_I would be forever trapped until he was brought down. Unless I became a predator as well, and then we would fight to the death until we destroyed one another._

_A plan started to form in my mind, the most dangerous plan I had ever devised, and I swiped out my cell phone and dialed the number I had long ago memorized. It rang for fifteen seconds and then a groggy voice answered, and she didn't even bother with a polite greeting._

"_It – is – two – o'clock – in – the – fucking – morning. So help me God, Addie, if this isn't life or death, I will-"_

"_I need you to meet me at my house in an hour, Yvonne," I whispered into the phone. "You want information? Then you have one hour to get it." Without so much as a good-bye I hung up and headed to the one place I refused to enter since Francesca Roscioli and David Walton had walked out the door. _

_Fury coupled with expectation, dread coupled with hope, and pain coupled with numbness as I stood in my parents old room. Everything was right where they had left it, but I headed for the desk where the computer sat. Rummaging through the rubbish, my hand enclosed on a small thumb drive, only four gigabytes, but to me it was our one-way ticket to freedom, our chance to escape this life._

_It didn't take long to copy the videos and documents to several other USB drives, and I quickly stuffed the copies into several different envelopes along with a letter to each. Grabbing my jacket, I stopped outside Quinn's room where she continued to sleep peacefully while I waited for Yvonne to arrive._

_Finally there was a '_knock, knock!'

_I raced for the door and flung it open, pulling her into my house. Yvonne, the pretty young journalist who had been covering the mob since the very beginning, stood in my living room with the weirdest combination of a dressing gown, coat, pajamas, and tennis shoes, looking distinctly ruffled._

"_Now you decide to talk," she huffed while I drew all the curtains to make sure no unwanted person was watching. "You know my entire career has been about following these thieves-"_

"_I need to show you something," I interrupted, taking her hand and leading her to Quinn's room. I let the door swing open quietly, revealing the little angel curled up with her stuffed dinosaur._

"_Is she your sister?" Yvonne asked. "She's adorable."_

_I nodded. "And I love her more than anything, Yvonne. Listen closely. I am going to ask you do something. I need you to get these out," I said, holding out the envelopes. "You still have some of your contacts from some news corporations?" Yvonne nodded quickly. "Good. I need you to get these to somebody in all of them. Make sure they can keep a secret."_

"_But why-" she started._

"_You see Quinn? If you do not do exactly as I say when I say, Frax will kill her, but not before playing around first." I shuddered at the thought. Yvonne's eyes widened, and I knew she would follow through for the little girl."If you can do that, then I will give you as much information on my parents as you want, but only after you're done. Got it?"_

"_I get it, don't worry. When do the people need to have these envelopes by?"_

_"Two hours ago," I said. "Go and remember what I told you; Quinn's life depends on this."_

_Yvonne scrambled for the door, and I watched as her headlights got smaller and smaller in the distance until they disappeared entirely. I exhaled, steeling myself for what I knew had to happen next. Ever since Frax had invaded my home, I had always made sure we were packed and ready for a quick getaway, but leaving wasn't the part that frightened me._

_Once again I found myself standing in my parents' room with the original flash drive in my hand. This was insane and dangerous at the same time, but it was for Quinn, and if I had to sail to ends of the earth to keep her safe, I would. Twirling the drive around in my fingers, I found myself drawn to a small white box on the top shelf of my parents' closest._

_Slowly pulling it out from under the dusty pictures and old clothes, I opened it, revealing a small revolver. It fit my hand perfectly when I held it gingerly, staring at it while I contemplated. Never one for violence, I had always refused to go with several of my friends to the gun range to practice, but now I regretted that. It was full of bullets, and though I knew what I had to do, I was still reluctant to do it._

_Who was I to decide who lived and who died? It was not my place, but at the same time it was my job to protect my own blood. I had always been adamant that if I had to kill to protect Quinn. I would, like any other with the motherly instinct, but premeditated? _

_Still weighing the revolver in my hand, I picked up my phone with the other hand and dialed the one number I never imagined I would. On the fourth ring he answered._

"_Hello, Addie. I was wondering when you would call."_

_Would I be able to do it if the time came? _

"_Meet me in Splendors Park lot in two hours."_

**Have no fear! The seventh chapter is here! I hope you liked it, and please review!**

**Thank you to BeckettFan03, Gladoo89, Littlelots, xxlokixxGJ, Mongoose Peasant, AkaMizu-Chan, Lady Tolwen, and ZabuzasGirl. You guys rock!**

**Worldnerd12**


	8. Femme Fatale

_Previously on The Real World:_

Who was I to decide who lived and who died? It was not my place, but at the same time it was my job to protect my own blood. I had always been adamant that if I had to kill to protect Quinn, I would, like any other with the motherly instinct, but premeditated? It was such a grey area.

Still weighing the revolver in my hand, I picked up my phone with the other hand and dialed the one number I never imagined I would. On the fourth ring he answered.

"Hello, Addie. I was wondering when you would call."

"Meet me in Splendors Park lot in two hours."

**Chapter 8: Femme Fatale**

Adrianna stared out over the beautiful sunset, her hands calm in her lap for once while Kíli sat beside her, silent. She waited nervously for the Dwarf to say something, anything, but he remained as silent as he had been after Adrianna's story of her desperate gamble for the life of Quinn and freedom from the fear that had ruled her.

"Please, say something, Kíli," she asked, the anxiety finally winning.

He sighed and took Adrianna's hands, looking at her like he was seeing her in a whole new light. "I think anybody would have done the same thing in your situation, Addie. Your sister was the only one you had left to live for, but I had never thought you would be one for confrontation like that."

Adrianna flinched, flashing back to Galadriel's words. She was an Elf, no matter which kind, and Kíli was a Dwarf. His race had been raised to hate Elves and all things connected to them. Adrianna knew she had promised to tell Kíli what she was when she found out, but she couldn't bring herself to tell him, the coward that she was, for fear of rejection. Yes, she _wasn't _one for confrontation like that.

"I'm not proud of what I did," Adrianna confessed. "It was wrong, but at the same time I was fulfilling my obligation to protect Quinn. I felt that I had no other choice, Kíli. What else could I have done?"

"You did what you did to protect your family, Addie," Kíli said firmly. "Nobody is blaming you."

Adrianna bowed her head in shame. "I took somebody's life, Kíli. Because of what I've done, somebody is dead, six feet under. How am I supposed to live with that on my conscience? If we decide who gets to live and die, we're playing God, and there's a reason we aren't all-powerful immortals."

Kíli pressed his forehead against hers, and Adrianna fought to keep the longing in her heart. It was irrational; she had only known Kíli for … was it two weeks already? However long it was, she had to resist the urge to lean closer, to press her body against his.

"You must move on, Addie. What is done is done, but if you continue to dwell on it, your present and future will only ever be the past," Kíli said, running his fingers over her high cheekbones and ears. He paused at the pointed tips, tightness in his handsome features that Adrianna cringed at, but the Dwarf blinked and smiled.

"Sorry. It's just I forget you aren't a Dwarf sometimes." There was a twinge of fear in her at his words. What would he do if he found out her true heritage?

Adrianna was suddenly aware of the fact they were no longer alone. She withdrew her hands from Kíli's grasp and turned around to find Galadriel waiting patiently, her beautiful face illuminated softly by the moonlight. She hastily curtsied, but Kíli simply stared as if unsure of what to do.

"Lady Galadriel. Forgive me; I didn't realize you were here." Adrianna glanced at a torn Kíli and nudged him. "Don't worry. She's a good Elf. You can trust her."

Eyes still wary, he bowed low. "Kíli, at your service, my Lady."

"Welcome to Rivendell, Kíli, son of Dís," Galadriel said graciously. "I only wish to speak with Adrianna in private; it is urgent, and I am sure that Mithrandir will be briefing Thorin, son of Thráin, son of Thrór, of the change of plan. Forgive me, Prince, but this cannot wait."

Kíli softly touched Adrianna's cheek, sending tingling sparks through her body. "I'll be waiting for when you return, Addie." He turned and left for the gathering of the rest of the company while Adrianna watched him go.

"It is rare," Galadriel started, "For an Elf to show affection so openly with a Dwarf, particularly one of the House of Durin."

Adrianna blushed, suddenly feeling like she was thirteen again with her mother lecturing her with her slight Italian accent seeping through on boys and how she was too young to consider dating any one of them, no matter how sweet they were. "I didn't realize that it was taboo. Sorry."

Galadriel chuckled. "I am not chastising you, dear one, but cautioning you." Adrianna's head snapped up at the words. "Dwarves love only once, Adrianna."

She blushed more.

"I know it's weird, but I care for him deeply. I don't want anything to happen to Kíli." Adrianna snorted when she reminded herself that her ears were pointed. "But he will change his mind; they will all change their mind when they find out who I really am. I'll just be another traitorous, arrogant Tree-Lover to them."

"Do not be so quick to judge, Adrianna. They all care deeply for you, but now we must talk about the more pressing matter on hand. It does not take a Seer to know that you will choose to continue on your journey with the Dwarves, so several of my handmaidens will show you to a place where you may choose more appropriate attire after you sleep."

"I didn't think you would find any clothes that would fit me," Adrianna said, gesturing to her three-foot-tall frame.

Galadriel smiled. "Where do you think that lovely dress came from? Elves were once children as well, and Lord Elrond has always been fond of keeping much of our past, including your people's garments and weapons." Adrianna fingered her lovely little dress, remembering something about it belonging to Lord Elrond's daughter, Arwen.

Wait a minute. Weapons?

"I don't know how to fight, my Lady," she protested.

"I have no doubt the young prince will be eager to teach you, Adrianna Roscioli, daughter of Francesca, last of the Egladhrim."

* * *

_I tapped my fingers against the wheel, hidden in the shadows, waiting. My heart hammered against my chest, each beat just one more second that I had to wait in suspense. Either the plan worked and Quinn would be able to live an actual life, or it would go completely bonkers and end with Frax sending my head in a box as a warning to my parents._

_A car appeared in my rear-view mirror, and I clutched to the revolver, my lifeline, while I stepped out of the car. Approaching Frax, I knew how intimidating I looked with yoga pants and a sweatshirt, but I was no longer Addie Roscioli from the little village near Kirkwall. Addie had been taken over by the other me. The me that raged a war inside my chest, thirsting for blood. _

_Hello, Frax. You just woke your worst enemy._

"_I was wondering if this was just a silly ploy," Frax simpered, "But I knew you wouldn't be so stupid with dear little Quinn's life on the line. You _are _smart enough to know. Right, Addie? You have what I came here for."_

_I had given the roaring monster within me complete control, and she relished in her release. "You mean this?" she taunted, dangling the flash drive from my hand. "Or do you mean the copies?" she simpered._

_Surprise flitted across Frax's brutish features. "What do you mean copies?" he repeated, and for the first time in my life, I heard an uneasiness to his voice._

_The other me smirked. "You never should have messed with me," she said. "While you were stuck in your own little world, Frax, you had given me something any enemy would fear: a cause. All around the world, editors and journalists are receiving a message and a USB drive with very specific instructions: if anything ever happens to Quinn, the video will air on every single major network. Oh, that's right! Your bosses don't want that, do they?"_

_Frax's fists trembled with suppressed rage and fear. "You didn't."_

_I stepped back to let her just twist the knife further in his skin, burying in his chest. "I did. Why? Did you not want me to fight back; was that just part of your game? If you light a fuse, Frax, you should expect an explosion."_

_Frax nodded several of his bodyguards forwards. They cracked their knuckles menacingly while surround me, blocking any escape. I let out a whimper of fear, but she would have none of it. Suddenly the gun was out and what happened next deafened my ears._

BANG! BANG! BANG!

_I cringed as each bullet found its mark, and the thugs lay dead on the ground with her holding the revolver quite steadily. Frax had reached into his pocket for his own, but she fired once at his leg, and he collapsed on the ground, his face tight with the pain I had experienced just before. As I stood over him, my finger itched to pull the trigger and finish the job. _

_Me, not her._

_I prepared to battle for control, but there was no need. The other side retreated as soon as the danger had disappeared with the thugs' lives, leaving only a simmering rage in her wake. All that was left was the job I had come here to do. For a moment I could think of nothing to say except to brag about my position over him._

"_Payback's a bitch, isn't it, Frax?" I asked, drawing upon the small amount of courage that remained, but my voice still trembled without her to back me up. I knew what had to be said next. Blood pounded in my ears; never before had I threatened anybody so blatantly._

_ "If I ever see you again, I won't be shooting so low next time."_

* * *

It was still dark with only the barest traces on sunrise when Adrianna was woken by Nethril's singing. She could not imagine why she needed to wake up at the crack of dawn unless it was Quinn waking her up on Christmas morning. Adrianna voiced her thoughts to Nethril through her haze in a groggy voice with half-closed eyes, and the reply was quiet and quick.

"I answer only to the Lady, and she told me to listen to Mithrandir. He says we should hurry, Lady Adrianna."

Adrianna blinked at her new title while Nethril led her over to a room where the both which had been carved into the floor was already full of warm water with several fluffy towels sitting ready. She stepped out of her thin slippers while Nethril removed her satin nightgown. Nethril allowed her fifteen minutes of relaxation in the water before she was whisked away.

The Elves had already laid out her clothing: her soft-soled leather boots were still there along with a fitted, dark green cotton dress that reached her knees over a pair of black leggings ("This better not be all you are going to give me; I'll freeze before we even _reach_ Mirkwood.) Nethril bequeathed her with a tunic a shade lighter than the dress that barely touched the hem along with a simple, very thin belt. The tunic, thankfully, was made a much thicker material. It was better, but Adrianna was still nervous. The Dwarves had bulked up in their armor and such in a way that made her doubt that the entire trip would be sunny and warm.

"Aren't mountains in the north supposed to be chilly?" she asked.

"You are impatient, Adrianna. Would you ever think my Lady would let you leave Rivendell without protection." Adrianna saw no point in pointing out that thirteen Dwarves and Gandalf was enough protection against goblins and Orcs, but she still felt underdressed for a long and difficult journey.

Nethril led her through several different platforms open to the air, most of which were empty since it seemed that most Elves still had the common sense to sleep in, though she doubted any would sleep later than her. They were soon past the inhabited part of Rivendell, cue the training fields and small edifices that no doubt held weapons and armor.

"So am I one of the only mortal Elves then?" Adrianna asked out of the blue to disrupt in unnerving silence.

Nethril smiled sadly. "You are the _only _mortal Elf. When Estë sent you to Scotland as you call it, she took away your people's immortality to hide you from Sauron, but before you ask, I do not know what will happen to you since you are back in your true home."

Home. That single word struck a cord in her heart. How did that old saying go? Home is where the heart is? Nothing was home to her now; home meant family, but she had no family without Quinn. No family meant she had no home, no matter what Nethril said.

"Here we are," the Elf announced, pushing through a door. Adrianna caught her breath; this place had everything from gorgeous gowns not dissimilar to the one she was wearing last night to full coats of armor. "Since you will be travelling over a long distance, I would suggest leather armor rather than steel since that gives you much more mobility, not to mention it's lighter." Nethril continued to speak about her attire, but Adrianna just let her mind wander.

She let her fingers trail over one of the swords while Nethril was already busy. Though Adrianna had a hard time paying attention, Nethril managed to get her into the things: a thick leather corset to add protection on her chest, vambraces, which were also leather, and a dark grey wool cloak. Adrianna fingered the inside of the cloak, surprised that there was a layer of fleece.

While Nethril tugged her corset tighter, her gaze wandered to the weapons. "Are those anybody's?"

"Everything thing in here belongs to your people, so it is all yours," she responded while she started at Adrianna's hair. Hoping that it wouldn't be anything fancy, she lifted her hand tentatively to feel the back of her head, but Nethril had only twisted her hair to form a crown braid to keep it out of her face, wrapping a twine around the end securely. She added several more pieces of twine to her belt ("In case you lose them.")

"Now," Nethril said, standing back and assessing her. "We need to arm you."

Adrianna gulped. All of the swords seemed to large and dangerous, but Nethril led her over to a small corner where there were bows and knives. "As an Elf, you will have much sharper eyesight than any other creature that walks Middle-Earth, making any bow in your hands an unstoppable weapon-"

"I wouldn't trust myself with a bow; besides, Kíli is the archer of our group," she replied, sifting through several swords and knives before spotting a very simple scabbard that held either a very long knife or a very short sword. Whatever it was, it was the perfect size and weight for Adrianna. She withdrew it, revealing a razor-sharp blade with a simple, unadorned handle with no guard. Looking at it critically, she had the sneaking suspicion that it was originally intended to be knife, but given her size, it would serve well as a sword.

"That was one of the last swords forged before your kin sailed away from Middle-Earth; it has never seen battle before."

"Guess that makes two of us, doesn't it," Adrianna murmured to herself, studying the keen-edged metal. There were no decorations; just a naked blade and a plain pommel, a simpleton like her. There was no denying the beauty, however. It had obviously been wrought with the finest hands in Middle-Earth.

"You will not find a finer sword. May it serve you well," Nethril said as she took the sheath and, crouching low, wrapped it tightly around Adrianna's waist. "It was originally meant for Glessil, an Elf-maiden who preferred to spend her days with the Elves of Greenwood, or as people are saying now, Mirkwood. She called it Hathelas, the Leaf Blade, for she loved to think of herself of the protector of her home in the forest." Nethril suddenly took her leg and strapped something to it. Adrianna looked down to see a much smaller sword – a dagger – sitting on the outside of her thigh. From the way Nethril was positioning it, it would be hidden from all unless she purposefully hiked up her dress. "This is Muinasicil, the Hidden Dagger. Unlike your sword, this dagger _has _seen battle, but tell nobody of it. You never know when you will need it."

Adrianna looked at herself in the mirror once Nethril was done; she spoke the truth. It was impossible to tell that she concealed another weapon beneath her dress. Adrianna couldn't help but feel relieved the she had another secret weapon, literally. She leaned closer to the reflection and lightly brushed her fingers over her cheek. The earlier glow she had possessed yesterday was gone, replaced with Adrianna Roscioli, the girl from the diner in London, but then again there was still the subtle difference. With the much more appropriate attire for the journey ahead of her, Adrianna couldn't help but fell pleased. She almost looked badass.

Before Nethril led her away from the place, Adrianna stole a tiny serrated switchblade from the top of a pile. She paused, wondering where she put it since there were no pockets, but remembering Greta's words about using her body to her advantage, Adrianna slipped it down her dress so it came to snugly rest against her sheer linen slip. That was the one dangerous thing she knew how to use since that was her only friend in running from Frax save the revolver at the final confrontation between Frax and her. It couldn't hurt to have a second backup after all.

"My work is now done, Adrianna. _Novaer_."

* * *

Adrianna knew that the Dwarves would have laughed at her outfit two weeks ago, saying about how she wouldn't the protection since she would run away at the first sign of trouble, but when she appeared before them with the sun still low in the sky, they barely paid attention, busy with their endless supply of hammers and axes. Standing before all of them with only Hathelas clearly visible on her hip, she felt much more inadequate. Besides, the Dwarves knew how to use their weapons; Adrianna didn't.

"I was worried you would only have the gown for the journey," Kíli said quietly from her side, gathering in her clothes and small amount of armor. "You looked stunning in it, but at least the Elves had the sense to dress you properly this time." He smartly rapped the strap of her corset, testing its durability. "And you have a means of protecting yourself with that sword. Or is it supposed to be a knife?"

She shrugged. "It was small and light, so I took it. It wasn't like anybody was using it. Now I just need to figure out how to use it."

"And I'm sure my little brother will be more than pleased to teach you swordplay," Fíli teased, clapping Kíli on the shoulder. "Get you trained up a bit, work on a more seductive manner, and ta-da! We'll be able to get into any town or mountain."

Adrianna cheeks were bright red while Kíli smacked him over the head. "Only if you do it first," she countered, and quiet laughter rang from the Dwarves.

Fíli whistled. "She's definitely a keeper, little brother." Then he addressed Adrianna. "Addie, can I just say that I never expected a petite young lady such as yourself to look so … impressive. For your size at least." She slapped his arm, but it was like hitting an elephant; it didn't actually hurt. Chortling, Fíli left to finish getting the rest of his weapons, leaving her and Kíli together.

"Where are all the ponies?" Adrianna asked quietly.

"They bolted when the Wargs attacked us," Kíli explained. "But I suppose it's for the best since we're headed for the Misty Mountains, and Bungo hates heights. There are going to be any paths, and there's rumors of small goblin communities hiding in the mountains."

"Goblins?" she squeaked, losing any confidence she had gained.

**That took longer to write than I thought, but better late than never. Don't worry. Adrianna won't suddenly know how be a swordmaster just because her "other side" took over during the Frax confrontation because she was furious. And just so you all know, she's not going to have multiple personalities or whatever. I just decided to elaborate that Adrianna, like everybody else, sometimes lashes out in anger even though her people are supposed to be kind and peaceful.**

**As always, I would like to thank the reviewers: ZabuzasGirl, HoneyGee08, Cat, 3insteinComplex, xxlokixxGJ, Lady Tolwen, and Mongoose Peasant. Thank you all so much!**

**PLEASE REVIEW! I would love to know what you readers think of my story. Just please no flamers.**

**Worldnerd12**


	9. Giants of Stone

_Previously on _The Real World_:_

_"Where are all the ponies?" Adrianna asked quietly._

_"They bolted when the Wargs attacked us," Kíli explained. "But I suppose it's for the best since we're headed for the Misty Mountains, and Bungo hates heights. There are going to be any paths, and there are rumors of small goblin communities hiding in the mountains."_

_"Goblins?" she squeaked, losing any confidence she had gained._

**Chapter 9: Giants of Stone**

Adrianna took one last look at the Last Homely House, in all of its splendor and glory with the shining ring of sunlight circling it with a warm, inviting light. The Dwarves filed past her one by one while she tried to memorize every inch of it, the beautiful arched pillars, the breathtaking view of the sea, the tinkling laughter and lilting music of the Elves. Unfortunately it was only a memory now. She was headed into the cold, dark unknown with her ever-faithful companions.

"Addie?" Kíli said, gently pushing her into the opposite direction. She shook herself out of her reverie and followed Fíli with her Dwarf close behind.

The days grew darker as the company made their way through the craggy foothills of the Misty Mountains, and Adrianna's memory continued to slip. She was holding onto the remaining images she had: the lonely entrance of Erebor, Kíli and Fíli's fates of the Battle of the Five Armies, and it took everything to just place one foot in front of the other. Adrianna would no longer be watching from the backseat; she would be thrown headfirst with the rest of the Dwarves into the epic battle that was to take place soon.

Adrianna knew she couldn't dwell on the very real possibility of her dying – for real this time, not some weird coma which had sent her here. For now it would do to simply listen and learn from the Dwarves, or more just learn since Dwalin didn't accept observation from the sidelines as a proper form of education. He was a firm believer in the power of pain, as was most of Dwarves Adrianna learned one drizzly night.

She had been talking with Ori about the advantage of divided government over a monarchy. Though she would never see her world again, Adrianna still retained the things she had learned in college from her halfway-completed International Studies major, and Ori was simply smarter than most Dwarves when it came to economics. Dwalin wasn't a fan of the intellectual debates, and he had thrown Hathelas on Adrianna's lap with only a grunt.

"Umm … why do I need my sword right now?" Adrianna asked blankly, partially withdrawing the blade from its sheath and examining it. Did Dwalin want her to clean it every day? She had thought it would be sufficient enough just to wipe it off when she – _if _she killed an Orc or goblin or any other nasty creature she would have the misfortune of meeting.

"Up," he rumbled. "If you're going to have a fine sword like that, you need to know how to use it. Now get up! No Orc is going to be this patient with you."

Adrianna had underestimated how intimidating Dwalin was, if that was possible, and she scrambled to her feet with Hathelas now fully extended towards Dwalin who was swinging his own massive weapon from side to side. All of the Dwarves had stopped what they were doing and gathered around to watch the extremely one-sided fight; even Thorin watched them through narrowed eyes from his perch.

Great. Now she would have an audience for her humiliation.

"Stay on your toes, girl!" Dwalin roared, and Adrianna jumped. "Or you'll just be a sitting duck! Do you want the goblins to eat you to the bone? Now _duck_!"

She did, albeit very clumsily, and she had managed to trip over her own foot at the same time, sending her stumbling back into a tree trunk. Adrianna blew a stray hair from her face. At least she didn't fall flat; there was always a good side to things. Dwalin continued like this, yelling instructions at her to avoid his blows, but she failed miserably. All Adrianna could do was deflect about forty percent of Dwalin's blows while staggering backwards with the Dwarf following her.

"I'm giving you dozens of openings, Addie. Use them," Dwalin spoke. He let his sword move to the side, and Adrianna lunged for his middle. Or course, she was too slow, and Dwalin caught her blade with his hilt as easily as if she were a five-year-old, and twisting, Hathelas clattered to the ground, but not before Dwalin swung his leg out and swiped Adrianna's feet out from under her. She landed hard with Dwalin's sword at her throat, and several others groaned in sympathy when she winced in pain from the ground.

"Again," he commanded, picking Hathelas up and handing it to her.

Adrianna groaned. "But you already beat me once."

"Again," Dwalin repeated more forcefully. "No Orc is going to be this kind."

Adrianna started the attack this time, whacking at Dwalin from every angle she could think of, but he blocked it as if it were as easy as one plus two. Adrianna would wind up on the ground every time, and most of the time Dwalin would have both of their swords pointed at her except for one memorable moment. Of course she could hardly be credited since all Adrianna did was trip over a tree root and accidentally catch Dwalin's blade with her own, leaving them both weaponless even if the fight ended with her on the ground.

By the time Dwalin had allowed her to finish with the small lesson for that day, Adrianna was black and blue all over, and she knew that she would barely be able to move tomorrow, but that wouldn't stop the Dwarves from moving on towards Laketown and Erebor. The only upside was they didn't have many things needing to be done that night, which meant she would be able to sleep from dusk till dawn.

"Don't be surprised tomorrow if I can't walk tomorrow," Adrianna groaned while she and Bofur were set the task of organizing the food in case they needed a quick getaway. She winced from the bruise on her side courtesy of the small pile of rocks she had slipped on.

"Walking will be good for you," Bofur said. "Cheer up. At least Dwalin's teaching you and not one of the training Dwarves back home. Some of them could be brutal."

She gaped at him. "And Dwalin's a fluffy little bunny? I think I have a deformed tailbone."

* * *

At least Bofur was right about the walking part; Adrianna had woken up and barely been able to move from the soreness of last night, but after several hours of trailing through foothills and woods, her legs felt much better. She ended up walking next to Kilí for most of the time, something she didn't mind the slightest bit. This meant she was in the back of the line and that she didn't have to be next to Thorin and Dwalin. It was enough Dwalin beat her up with swordplay while everybody else watched everyday – she was pretty sure the nighttime practice was the best form of entertainment several of the Dwarves have had since the beginning of the journey.

They continued like that every night, Dwalin pounding on her relentlessly while she barely managed to deflect his weapon. He kept telling her to use the openings he gave her, but it took all Adrianna had just to hold Dwalin at bay.

"All I'm asking is for one night of rest," Adrianna muttered while she focused on the awfully narrow path in front of her. They had finally reached the Misty Mountains, and Adrianna treaded very carefully on the tiny ledge they were stuck on with Filí on one side and Ori on the other, sure she was going to slip and fall into the abyss at any moment. "Is that too much to ask for?"

"Dwalin is the best warrior among us besides Thorin," Kilí said from in front of Filí. "If anybody's going to teach you how to fight, Addie, it's him. Next time you face an Orc, you'll be grateful."

"And he's toughening you up," Filí added. "If you can take Dwalin fighting against you every night, then you won't wear out too quickly in an actual battle. Considering how small you are, you'll need to know skill since you can't depend on brute strength like some Dwarves. He's teaching you the most he can with only one short sword." Adrianna's mind flashed to the dagger strapped to her thigh and the switchblade hidden beneath the fitted leather protecting her chest, but she didn't tell the Dwarves that since it might prove very awkward if she had to reach into her dress to show them.

The company finally reached a small fissure in the rock as night started to fall, but it was nothing more than a dry hollow in the mountain that reached maybe fifteen yards back. It was roomy enough that they wouldn't be piled right on top of each other but crowded enough that it would still be a tight squeeze. She made to the back of the cave, following Kilí while Filí stooped to help Bombur prepare dinner.

"How far until we're out of the mountains?" she asked quietly.

He shrugged "One more week perhaps. It depends on who or what we run into. Many different creatures dwell in the mountains. I know it is rumored a colony of goblins lurks beneath the mountains, but there are some spots even _they _avoid. I know some people talk of an underground lake."

A pair of luminous eyes filled her vision. There was _something _Bilbo had encountered, but it slipped her mind every time she tried to remember. She could picture the thin but strong arms and the long, spindly fingers that had tried choking Frodo to death on top of Mount Doom.

Gollum.

Adrianna shivered. The ring was down below her somewhere, and she knew what she had to do, but that didn't stop her from hoping that whatever power had ever sent her here would send her back before she had to confront that … thing. Who knows? Maybe the fall that was inevitable would push her to wake up in a hospital, battered but alive.

A flash of movement caught her eye, and Adrianna only just raised her hands in time to catch Hathelas, which Dwalin had thrown to her. Apparently the weather and lack of room had no effect on their lessons; if anything, Dwalin was that much more determined that she learn to defend herself.

Nonetheless, she groaned, and Kíli gave her hand a comforting squeeze while Dwalin took several steps back to prepare himself – not that he needed much.

"Good luck, Addie," he whispered into her ear, and Adrianna shivered from his breath against her neck.

Dwalin grunted. "Forget about your boyfriend for a moment and focus." Here both Adrianna and Kíli blushed "At least you are smaller and have a shorter blade."

"Yes, and that makes me feel _so _much better." She was surprised that the sarcastic comment slipped so easily past her tongue; usually Adrianna was reserved in her response and behavior. Save Greta and her few close friends, hardly anybody ever saw her wilder side, and this was the first time any of the Dwarves got a glimpse of her completely disregarding the respect she should have had for those in positions of authority.

Several of the Dwarves chuckled, and Dwalin cracked a small smile. "Most of your opponents will be bigger than you, so it's important to know how to use one's weight against him."

With that little bit of advice, Adrianna was hopeful that maybe she would have a better chance at surviving Dwalin's attacks, but while she was getting better every night they practiced, she still wound up on the ground with Dwalin's sword pressed against her throat after two minutes – compared to two seconds from when they first started sparring. At least she was getting better at standing her ground so when Adrianna fell asleep, she didn't wake up with so many bruises and scratches.

* * *

The harsh, biting wind blew her hair out behind Adrianna while the rain stung every inch of exposed skin. She clung to the rock while shuffling over the ledge all of the Dwarves stood on. Thunder boomed overhead, and Filí grabbed her elbow to keep her from slipping. Adrianna thanked him, but she doubted he heard it.

She had never been more miserable. The gusts pulled at her hair and clothes while the torrents of the water racing down the rock soaked her from head to toe. Adrianna shook violently from the freezing rain, her teeth chattering against each other with such force that it hurt. They came to a small fissure, and each of the Dwarves was carefully stepping over it when deafening crunches echoed through the valley.

Adrianna looked up and felt her heart drop to her stomach. The great pillar of stone was _moving_, or rather, the giant who had disguised itself as a pile of stone was moving. It lumbered to its feet, heaving an enormous boulder out of its hand – right at her.

"Take cover!" Thorin yelled over the cacophony of thunder and rocks, and Adrianna curled herself into a ball, pressing herself against the wall behind her while the sarsen collided against the wall over her and tumbled down into the gorge, narrowly missing Adrianna and the Dwarves.

And then there were two.

The deafening sounds doubled as a second Stone Giant emerged from their other side, towering. It lunged in slow motion for the first giant, and the sound of stones grinding against each other hurt Adrianna's ears as it reverberated through the air. Filí had just pushed her behind his arm when the mountain they were standing on started to rumble. She slipped and landed on her hands and knees just as she realized that it was not a mountain they were unfortunate enough to be standing on, but another giant.

"Watch out!" one of the Dwarves yelled while another called for all of them to keep their footing and hold on to something, but it was Filí's voice which held her attention.

"Kilí, grab my hand!"

Adrianna risked falling to poke her head around Filí's leg, expecting to see Kilí and the other half of the company, but there was only empty space. Just their luck, they had been standing at the giant's knees, and now Kilí and the rest were racing away from her as the giant stood up. Adrianna let out a small cry that nobody heard.

"Addie, hold on tight," Filí yelled over the ear-splitting roars. Adrianna looked up to see the giant's head get knocked clean off its shoulders, and then they started to fall.

The exhilarating feeling was quickly squashed by her fear as she saw they weren't stopping. Instead, they were headed right for the real mountain. Adrianna screamed as she clutched the giant's leg for dear life, but there was no stopping it. They just kept falling and falling, the wall getting closer and closer.

_CRUNCH!_

Somebody pulled Adrianna close and leapt onto the large rock while the leg of the giant grinded against the mountain just above them. It took forever, but the pillar of stone finally fell away. Momentarily stunned, she felt somebody pull her to her feet: Kilí. He held her closely while she watched the giant continue to fall into the dark abyss. She breathed a sigh of relief that they were momentarily out of danger.

"Hurry," Thorin commanded. Adrianna gripped Kilí's hand, and followed him into a small cave entrance.

* * *

The Dwarves all piled into the cave. Adrianna shivered against the cold, but at least it was dry. Bofur was taking first watch, so she spread out her cloak next to Kilí's, and attempted to make a pillow out of her pack. Following the Dwarves' example, she kept her weapons on her, should they need to make a quick getaway.

Thankfully Dwalin was too wiped out to spare with her, so Adrianna attempted to get comfortable next to Kilí, but that was easier said than done. Everywhere she turned there was a rock or branch sticking into her already sore back, and she just kept twisting and turning while the other Dwarves fell asleep one by one, filling the caves with their noisy snores. All that did was make even harder to fall asleep.

"Quit moving, Addie," Kilí whispered, scooting over to her side.

"I can't," she whispered back. "Everywhere I turn there's a rock there."

Kilí chuckled, sat up against the wall, and pulled her over onto his lap. "Better?" he asked quietly.

"Better," Adrianna agreed. She slowly breathed out, and now that she was much more comfortable now, the sleepiness attacked her from all sides, her eyelids half-closed. The only time she had ever been this tired was her second year of college when she had to pull two all-nighters in a row; she had slept in until four o'clock in the afternoon after the second night. She slowly drifted from consciousness despite the snoring, barely aware of Kilí stroking her windswept and tangled hair.

It didn't seem to her like much time had passed, but she heard Kilí's voice whisper something, and she thought it was Bofur who responded. Adrianna stayed still, unable to make out the words through her hazy mind and unsure if this was a dream or something else, but either way she was too tired to open her eyes until Thorin's loud voice and urgent tone permanently roused her from her slumber. All around her, the Dwarves mumbled while they tried to free themselves from the bundles of cloaks they slept on. Kilí grabbed tightly onto her hand. It was silent for a moment in the cave, and Adrianna dared to breathe.

And then she was falling.

**Hello! Sorry for the long time it took to update, but I wanted to focus on finishing high school since it's, you know, _kind of _important to get my diploma. Good thing I have now taken my last ever final for high school and am now graduating! Thanks for your consideration, and I'm sorry for any inconvenience. **

**I would also like to thank my reviewers: ZabuzasGirl, Tolwen, i am a Fire-jay, kilithemajestic0926, Sunamer, and photogirl894. Love you all so much!**

**Worldnerd12**


	10. The Game of Riddles

_Previously on _The Real World_:_

_Kilí chuckled, sat up against the wall, and pulled her over onto his lap. "Better?" he asked quietly._

_"Better," Adrianna agreed. She slowly breathed out, and now that she was much more comfortable now, the sleepiness attacked her from all sides, her eyelids half-closed. The only time she had ever been this tired was her second year of college when she had to pull three all-nighters in a row; she had slept in until four o'clock in the afternoon after the third night. She slowly drifted from consciousness despite the snoring, barely aware of Kilí stroking her messy hair._

_It didn't seem to her like much time had passed, but she heard Kilí's voice whisper something, and she thought it was Bofur who responded. Adrianna stayed still, unable to make out the words through her hazy mind and unsure if this was a dream or something else, but either way she was too tired to open her eyes until Thorin's loud voice and urgent tone permanently roused her from her slumber. All around her, the Dwarves mumbled while they tried to free themselves from the bundles of cloaks they slept on. Kilí grabbed tightly onto her hand. It was silent for a moment in the cave, and Adrianna dared to breathe._

_And then she started falling._

**Chapter 10: The Game of Riddles**

Adrianna didn't yell; she screeched. One minute there was solid ground beneath her, the next there was just empty air. She flailed and kicked and grabbed, but there was nothing for she to get a hold of until she hit a slide. Luckily it was at an angle, so Adrianna didn't go _ker-splat! _That didn't mean it wasn't uncomfortable. She was positive she at least had a couple of cracked ribs. It was inevitable with her fragile frame, but she just continued to fall.

She heard the others bump against each other with loud grunts, but Adrianna was too busy trying to gain a foothold to worry about them. At one point she was right on top of one of the Dwarves, and suddenly they all dropped off into a odd-looking bowl. Thankfully Adrianna was one of the last to fall in, so she didn't have somebody like say … Bombur fall on her, but Adrianna still pitied whoever he _did _land on.

But she didn't have much time to think before she was fighting. It all happened so fast. One minute they were on the roller coaster of a lifetime, the next goblins were descending on them like vultures on a carcass. Somebody grabbed Adrianna and held her close – Kíli. She responded, but that didn't stop rough, dirty hands from snatching her.

"Kíli!" she yelled, struggling against the iron grip that held her. Kíli was wresting with the goblins that restrained him, and Adrianna watched hopelessly as one started to beat him into submission.

"No! Don't hurt him!" Adrianna screamed. She elbowed the goblin that was holding her in the jaw. He squealed and released her. Adrianna raced forward to where the rest of the Dwarves were being herded against their will, but the goblin caught up with her and knocked her flat on her back.

"Addie!" Kíli's voice yelled from somewhere above her.

The goblin lunged for her and barely thinking, Adrianna kicked her feet up, toppling the goblin and causing him to fall into the abyss the lay beneath them, but not before he latched onto her ankle. For the briefest moment, Adrianna had relished her first little victory, but then she felt the harsh pressure around her skinny leg, and she was sliding across the wood. Adrianna scratched the surface, feeling for a rope or plank or just _something_, and just as she passed the edge, she found a frayed but usable rope and held onto it for dear life.

She could soon feel her tiny fingers slipping from the combined weight. There was nothing she could do as one by one, her fingers broke from the terrible tension. Adrianna dared look into the abyss that would soon take her life, would swallow her up like she was nothing more than a piece of meat. Her and the goblin that was dangling from her ankle.

"No!" Kíli cried out just as the tips of her fingers gave out. Adrianna was above the wood just long enough for her to see him wrest free of the goblins and dive for her, and what happened after that was a whirl. He managed to catch her hand, just barely, but the weight of the goblin – it was a very pudgy goblin in Adrianna's mind – started to pull him over the edge as well.

"You're going to fall!" she yelled out in warning.

Kíli shook his head, a grim, determined look of concentration set on his face. "I'm not losing you." And he wasn't. Slowly but surely, Kilí started to pull her up, that is until Adrianna saw yet another goblin spot them and make towards her and the Dwarf. Kíli's eyes flickered between the goblin and Adrianna.

"Kíli, watch out!" Adrianna yelped, but Kilí, the irresistible, stubborn Dwarf he was, refused to stop trying to pull her up onto safer – relatively – ground. The goblin raised his spiked mace just as he reached them, and started to bring it down on Kilí's arm. It was too late to do anything else. Adrianna grabbed hold of the ledge with her other free hand, and pushed the arm that was holding her just far enough away to escape harm, but then she felt her fingers slip off the wood once Kilí was gone.

"No, Addie! _ADDIE!_"

Kíli's voice carried above everything else in the deafening clamor above her, but Adrianna had already plundered through the dark and into the chasm with the unnamed goblin. Unlike before, she had nothing to break the descent to her death. It was just the muggy, misty air and the smell of rotten meat, and herself, all alone. Nobody would ever find her body. She would lay here for the rest of eternity until her bones turned to dust and scattered into the wind.

But then suddenly her eternal fall was broken quite unexpectedly by … water?

* * *

Kilí's sword found its way into his attacker's stomach easily, and the goblin dropped dead, but he couldn't care less about the goblin. All he could do was stare into the darkness surrounding him and the other Dwarves, the darkness that had taken Adrianna, had stolen her from his fingers.

_My Addie_.

He might not have known her long, but it had been enough to know that he was never going to meet another woman like her again. Her beauty, her grace, her kindness, even her rare auburn hair that shone like molten gold in the face of the sun, they were unmatched, and now they were gone along with her.

Hands seized Kíli, and he was brought back to the present of goblins herding them like sheep across the bridge and into the tunnels. Fíli was right beside him, fighting tooth and nail to get out of their captors' hands, but Kíli just stared off into the spot where Adrianna had fallen from.

"Kíli! A little help?" Fíli said, elbowing a goblin that had come up right behind him, and Kíli snapped out of it. He heaved a smaller goblin and bodily threw him over the edge but another goblin caught him around the middle. Kíli tried to reach for his sword, but it was useless. All around him the other Dwarves eventually had no choice but to follow the goblins wherever thy wanted to take them.

As they were dragged away, Kíli noticed he had been holding something, and he looked down to see a little piece of paper in him palm. It was the picture he had seen Adrianna staring at during their stay in Rivendell, a picture of her hugging her little sister. He must have grabbed it when he was trying to pull her up, and Kíli stuffed it into his pocket.

* * *

The cold water bit into Adrianna from all sides as she submerged beneath the lake. It was like ice, freezing her insides solid as Adrianna battled against the water to break the surface, but the bulk of her clothing made it nearly impossible, so with numb fingers, Adrianna struggled against the fastened cloak. Her bag had already fallen God knew where, and soon enough the cloak was gone as well.

Her lungs burned for oxygen, and Adrianna kicked upwards hard, using what she remembered from her brief stint on swim team to race up to where the air was, but the rest of her clothes were still holding her down, and they weren't as easily movable. With a great amount of effort, her face broke the surface of the water once, enough to gasp for air before going under one more time.

For a minute, Adrianna was just struggling to keep afloat until strong, spindly hands seized her roughly and pulled her towards – hopefully – the shore. She coughed and spluttered, twitching once on the gravelly and rocky shore. Somewhere beside her, she heard the goblin who had fallen with her moaning in pain.

"Oh, look, my precious! More meat, but what is it, my precious? What is it?"

The voice sent a new series of shivers down Adrianna's spine for it was a voice she would recognize anywhere. The heavy breathing, the throaty tones, even the bad grammar. She hadn't been saved.

She had been retrieved.

By Gollum.

Adrianna scrambled to her feet, trembling. Whether it was from fear or cold, she couldn't tell, but all she knew was that she had to get out of here. Adrianna reached slowly for her sword, gratefully clutching the smooth metal while Gollum started to circle her curiously. It was so much more terrible in real life, with … _its _wild eyes, long fingers that could choke her to death in an instant, the powerful muscles that were visible just beneath the skin.

"Stay away," Adrianna choked out. She fully withdrew Hathelas and pointed it at Gollum.

The creature's expression slowly turned to one of anger, but there wasn't enough time to say anything else because at that moment the goblin who had fallen awoke fully and attacked Gollum. The retaliation was swift, a rock to the head, and the goblin fell still once again right before Adrianna caught a flash of gold in the air.

Things happened in slow motion. Adrianna leaped forward for the ring just as Gollum raised his head to see Adrianna stumble forward onto the rocks. She caught the ring, but she tripped and landed weirdly on her ankle. Before Adrianna had any more time to plan her escape from this underground maze, Gollum was on top of her.

"We do not likes nasty peoples! We don't likes them, my precious!" Gollum screamed, pressing her hands against her chest. Hathelas clattered to the ground somewhere to Adrianna's side. She struggled against the iron grip, but all she achieved was Gollum getting angrier. Gollum restrained both her arms easily with one hand while his other found its way to her throat.

Adrianna's mind flashed to her switchblade hidden beneath her dress. There was no way she would be able to reach for the much more lethal dagger strapped to her leg, but the pocketknife she could do. Twisting her left hand, Adrianna reached down under her leather armor and felt her fingers brush against the cold metal. She twisted her hand more and clasped the little blade.

With a great shove, Adrianna kicked Gollum away, briefly loosening his hold on her and she swiped across the creature's chest with her trusty little knife. The was a squeal, and Gollum clutched his shoulder – she had missed the golden spot where his heart was. Adrianna took her chance and with the ring and pocketknife in one hand, she grabbed Hathelas and ran for the one crevice that she could see.

There was a shout, and Adrianna heard hands and feet scuffling behind her. She reached the doorway just as Gollum jumped in front of her, snarling like an animal. She stumbled back in surprise. Her thoughts momentarily drifted to the ring in her hand, but she knew that would only make Gollum angrier.

"It's mean and nasty," Gollum said, creeping closer to Adrianna. "What's it want, my precious?" He curled his lip to reveal several rotting teeth.

Fear took Adrianna by the head, and she found herself desperately searching for something to help her out of this mess. _What _did Bilbo do?

"Games!" Adrianna cried out suddenly, and Gollum stopped. "I like games! What about you?"

Gollum's face split into a wide smile, completely erasing his earlier scowl. "Oh, we loves games! We loves to play, doesn't we, precious?" Gollum perched himself on top of a rock, and Adrianna held on to all the answers she remembered. "What has roots as nobody sees? Is taller than trees? Up, up, up it goes, yet never grows?"

Mountain.

"The mountain," Adrianna said in a small bout of relief. If there was one thing that she would not be able to handle, it was riddles she didn't know the answer to. Normally, she would love mind games, but not one where the penalty to losing was death rather than kissing a friend on the cheek.

Come to think of it, that also wouldn't go over so well considering that it was Gollum who she would have to kiss on the cheek.

Gollum crackled with eagerness. "Oh, this is so much fun, my precious! _Gollum, Gollum!_"

Adrianna quickly avoided a spider that had started to crawl towards her boot, and stepped closer to the doorway, but Gollum didn't notice. "Yes, it is fun, isn't it. How about, if I win, you let me go."

"And if it loses? Well, if it loses, my precious, then we eats it!" Gollum stepped off his perch and approached Adrianna. She raised Hathelas threateningly, and Gollum stopped several feet from her, which Adrianna thought was more than close enough.

"You already have your lovely goblin over there," Adrianna protested weakly.

_Lovely? Ha! s_he thought.

"Besides you don't want to eat me. I'm all tough and disgusting."

Gollum growled, and Adrianna retreated to her previous stance. "It's lying, my precious."

Adrianna was starting to get annoyed. "First of all, I'm not an _it_. My name is Adrianna, and I'm an Elf-"

"Elveses?" Gollum repeated, and Adrianna slapped her hand over her mouth, mad that she just couldn't keep her bloody mouth shut. "Elveses are delicious. Sweet and tender, aren't they, my precious._ Gollum, Gollum!_" Gollum prepared to pounce, and Adrianna searched her mind for something to stall the creature.

"Only if you win. You can only eat me if you win."

That was something she thought she would never hear herself say.

"But if _I _win, you have to let me go," Adrianna said forcefully.

Gollum paced while she kept him in her sights at all times. "What's my precious think? It could be lying. No! We wants Elfish meat. We's had nothing but fishes and batses and nasty little goblinses! But don't believe it for a second, my precious! It just wants to go away!"

"Yes!" Adrianna yelped. "Yes, so if you could just show me the way out of here."

Gollum snarled viciously. "Ask us the question first, my precious. Ask us!"

"I-I have mountains but no heights, rivers b-but no water, forests but no trees. What am I?" Adrianna stammered. It was the first riddle she could come up with, and quite a good one if she dared say. Perhaps Gollum's lack of knowledge of civilization would hinder him.

"A map! Oh, that was a good one, my precious!"

Or not.

Gollum adopted a much more serious and creepier manner. "Voiceless it cries, wingless it flutters, toothless bites, mouthless mutters."

They were circling until Adrianna was almost right next to her one exit. In the silence when Gollum was waiting for an answer, Adrianna pricked up her ears. A Hobbit might not have been able to discern a ruckus from far away, but Adrianna was an Elf, and so her hearing was much better than most.

It was soft enough that she could have been imagining it, but Adrianna was not going to pass up on an opportunity. There were distant – oh so very distant – yells. She looked up at the ceiling but nothing gave any hint as to who was above, so Adrianna shook her head and turned her mind back to the question.

"It's stuck. Oh, perhaps we will have Elfses for dinner after all, my precious!"

"I'm not stuck!" Adrianna protested. "Wind. The answer is wind."

Gollum growled and Adrianna raised Hathelas once again. "The people who make me don't want me, the people who buy me don't use me, the people who use me don't know me. What am I?"

Gollum adapted his much more excitable personality once more as he turned his head.

This was her one chance.

Adrianna quickly slipped the ring on. She didn't feel any different, but whether or not she actually was invisible, she took off down into the rocky fissure for a doorway, running as fast as she dared without tripping and alerting Gollum to her escape.

Then a scream echoed through the caves, and Adrianna knew she had a pursuer.

**I was going to combine this with the next chapter, but I didn't want to make you wait too long, so I apologize for the shortness, but the next chapter will be longer. Please let me know what you think and REVIEW!**

**I've been thinking about a sequel instead of just having an epilogue that would explain how the _Lord of the Rings _story works out, and though it would be in the Lord of the Rings section, it would be called _The Real World II: Quest to Mordor__. _Would that be a good idea, or should I just have a longer explanatory epilogue? Let me know if you would like that, but keep in mind that it won't be until the third movie comes out and I finish this story.**

**On that note, I will also be following the movies, so after writing all the stuff about Azog right after I'm done with the goblins, there will be a break until I can see the second film, though I will be rewriting this story once I get the Extended Edition.**

**Thanks to Hobbit nerd, kilithemajestic0926, and ZabuzasGirl! You guys are amazing! **

**WorldNerd12**


	11. Author's Note

**Author's Note:**

**Hello, everybody. So far I have been getting plenty of PMs and reviews from people who want Bilbo back in the story. Since I've only written ten chapters and not that far into the story, it would be possible to rewrite the story with Bilbo in it, so I've decided to put it up to a vote for people. The main story would remain the same except there would be a couple more scenes with Bilbo. What do you think? Keep in mind that you would have to wait an extra week or two if the majority of you want me to rewrite the story with Bilbo.**

**WorldNerd12**

**PS: Flamers' opinions and/or votes will be ignored since I do not take too kindly to comments like that.**


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